Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine
by GorseT
Summary: One week after the Kishin's defeat, Death City is back in the Nevada desert, everyone is healing at their own pace and things are looking up, but when a strange masked woman appears and enrolls in the academy, things begin to go downhill. Can the group that faced the kishin move past the problems of this new student in order to continue their very lives? Only time will tell...
1. Chapter 1

Life, Death, Love, Hate, Happiness and Sorrow are all the same thing.

Just words that give the illusion of sanity.

But we all know, we all know the truth.

The true path to sanity is seeping with the blood of the incompetent.

True sanity only comes to be through pain.

And that is why, we are the most sane of all.

-Greg Terrance Zorski

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

**Ten years before the "Asura incident"**

"But why?" the blonde girl pleaded, tears streamed down her small face as she asked her guardian this painful question.

He looked down at her, his bags slung over his shoulder as he did so.

"Because I need to go." He replied simply, his ginger hair curled and swayed as he turned towards her.

His heavy black boots thudded against the wooden floor, his duffle bag soon slumped to the floor as he approached.

Tears began to puddle on the boards at the girl's feet, her small white dress had drops land on its silky fabric.

He stopped a foot from her, he stooped to a crouch, even so he towered over the young girl.

"Hey now," he chuckled, he lay a hand on her shoulder," what's with the crying?"

She stiffened and turned away from him, she quickly began to wipe the tears away.

"I'm not crying." She wept, this only added to his amusement.

"Oh ho," he huffed," lying are we?"

She turned to face him, her face had a frown plastered onto it, the tears still streamed to the floor.

"Maybe." She shot back, she crossed her arms and turned to the side, her blonde hair waved as she did so.

He chuckled and replaced his massive hand onto her tiny shoulder, she turned back to him and uncrossed her arms.

He grabbed a cloth and wiped her tears from her face.

The scar on her cheek burned and she twitched in pain, but she held firm.

The scar consisted of two cuts that extended from her left cheekbone to her left earlobe.

"Sorry." He muttered, noticing her movements.

"It's OK." She assured him.

He shook his head.

"No, no it's not," he stated, he brought the cloth away from her face, she looked at him confused," I'm sorry for doing this to you."

He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracked from the effort.

The soft touch of her hand stopped him, he looked down at her smiling, scarred face, her large green eyes glistened.

"That's what's OK." She stated as she grinned ear to ear.

He looked at her for a moment before hugging her tightly.

"I'll miss you." He said seriously.

She gripped him even tighter.

"And I'll miss you." She said, any hint of sadness was gone and replaced with a strange sense of joy.

He patted her head and released himself from her embrace, he reluctantly stood up.

"I've taught you all I know," he told her," in all there is to know."

She linked her fingers together behind her back, she smiled proudly.

He hesitated before continuing.

"May the curse of my people." he began, he stopped for a moment, he looked at the black scar on her cheek.

She looked at him puzzled.

"Come on now," she said, he looked at her startled," you've said this many times before."

He was stunned.

"So young." He thought.

He smiled.

"Yeah I guess I have," he agreed, "but this time it's different."

He sighed and walked to his bag, she trotted to it.

"Let me help." She said as she grabbed a loop of fabric, though she couldn't move it a foot with her pulling.

He laughed as he grabbed the loops and lifted the bag with no problems.

"It's almost like you want me to leave." He joked.

She crossed her arms and frowned at him.

He walked towards the door.

"Aha," he exclaimed, he opened his duffle and brought out a large case, he walked to the table and set it down," I almost forgot your gift."

He grabbed a chair and positioned it for her to climb up.

"What is it?" she asked when she was standing over it.

Her small fingers grasped the clamps.

"His name is Ko." He replied as she opened the case.

A folded blade with a handle was revealed as the case clicked open, she squealed with delight.

She hugged him and returned her attention to the weapon on the table.

"Is he my new friend?" she asked.

"Yes, only you can wield him," he answered," being what you are."

He placed a hand onto her head as she stared at the shining blade.

"Thanks Greg!" she almost yelled, she hugged him again.

He patted her on the head and chuckled.

"No problem Alexis," Greg replied," just be sure to take care of him, if you do that, he'll take care of you."

Alexis smiled widely and nodded.

His footsteps echoed through the small house, soon being followed by the door opening, she turned to face him.

He was looking out into the wilderness.

"You know the plan?" he asked.

She giggled.

"Of course I do." She assured him.

He closed his eyes and nodded.

"May the curse of my people," he attempted once more, he took a breath," serve you well."

And with that he was gone, leaving the girl all alone with nothing, but a weapon and a plan.

**One week after the "Asura Incident"**

She walked through Death City, the buildings disgusted her as did the people.

She moved with an eerie grace through the alleys, avoiding any form of contact with the locals.

Her reddish hair swayed over her mask from under her hood.

The mask was simple, a plain white build with a red barbed hook curving from the chin to the right eye with the eyes being narrow slits rather than being round.

Not a single piece of skin was visible, the only places her large parka and heavy pants didn't cover were wrapped in bandages.

A flat case was draped over her shoulder as she walked through the alleys.

"The kishin is dead," she muttered, "if such a place could create a meister capable of that, then I've got some work to do."

She weaved through a group of people who had assembled at the end of the alley, she roughly pushed anyone that didn't move.

She looked up to the massive academy, the DWMA.

The skull looked almost laughable.

She pushed past a pair of bystanders and continued her ascent.

**Meanwhile, in the hospital.**

Maka Albarn and her partner Soul Eater walked through the halls of the hospital.

Bandages covered her cheeks and her right arm was in a sling.

Soul was walking with slight difficulty, but he didn't really complain.

"God, I'm glad to finally be out of that damn room," Soul stated," that was so uncool."

"Yeah I know," Maka agreed as she flexed her fingers in the sling,"I mean, why do I have to wear this, I can finally feel my fingers again and my arm's in a sling."

Kid, Liz and Patty exited a door, Maka and Soul both looked in disbelief at Kid, who was in a wheelchair.

"Hey guys!" Patty beamed as happy as can be.

"Hey look who's out of their rooms." Liz remarked as she pushed Kid's chair.

"Hey guys," Maka stammered," I didn't think Kid was hurt that bad."

Liz crossed her arms and looked annoyed.

"He's not." She replied simply.

"Huh?" Soul huffed.

"Mr. Symmetry here hurt his foot, just one," Liz explained while eyeing Kid," so he refuses to walk until it feels better."

"Hey, if I walk the symmetry would be off," Kid stated, he grabbed his head," and that would be unbearable!"

Liz turned back to him with a playful look.

"Almost as unbearable as not being able to make those jars in your room symmetrical?" she cooed.

"Hey," Kid cried," don't remind me of that!"

"C'mon let's get home." Liz muttered as she gripped the handles on Kid's chair and wheeled him away, all the while he complained about his foot and the jars.

"Well," Soul laughed," at least everyone's OK."

Maka nodded as they both walked for the door.

"Wait," she said, looking around," where's BlackStar?"

"Ah, I heard he snuck out again last night and disappeared," Soul replied," the nurses said that Tsubaki is gone too, maybe she went looking for him."

Maka nodded once more.

"Knowing him he's probably just at home." She muttered.

"Yeah." Soul agreed.

They pushed past the doors and began their trek home.

Most of the walk was in silence.

About halfway there Maka stopped midstride.

Soul continued for a few shaky paces before he stopped and turned to face her.

"What?" he asked, he soon noticed her absent expression.

He approached her and called her name a few times.

"Hey, Maka stop zoning out all the ti-" he began as he got closer, when he was close enough he saw that her face was beaded with sweat.

He snapped his fingers in front of her scared expression.

"Hey," he called, he grabbed her shoulder and shook her, she came to her senses," hey Maka, you OK?"

She brushed his hand away.

"Um," she began in a shaky voice," yeah, yeah I'm fine."

He cocked his head.

"You sure 'cause you just had another one of your zone outs?" he said, unconvinced.

She looked at him confused.

"I did?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered, he shook his head and turned," c'mon, let's get home and eat before it gets dark."

Maka turned to face the dark alley, she couldn't make out anything in its shadowed depths.

"Yeah," she agreed, she turned and followed Soul closely," good idea."

"What is this feeling," she thought to herself," it's creepy."

After a few moments a figure emerged from the shadows of the alley, the fishhook mask turned this way and that to check to see if the coast was clear, upon seeing that it was, she walked out into the street.

She watched Maka and Soul as they retreated to their home.

"Found you." The masked woman muttered.

**At the academy.**

"Yahoo!" BlackStar shouted from atop one of the many spires of the school, his voice echoed throughout Death City.

He laughed and snickered obnoxiously.

"Hey, BlackStar," Tsubaki shouted from below, he turned to look," there you are, c'mon we should get home before it gets dark."

He simply laughed at this.

"No, not yet," he exclaimed, he struck a pose," the great BlackStar wishes for everyone to know that he's on his feet."

"From what I've heard you've been on your feet for the past three days." Stein remarked from the spire beside him, he almost fell from the surprise.

"Hey don't do that," BlackStar warned him when he was balanced," I'm a great assassin you know."

Stein simply lit a cigarette and turned the screw in his head, it clicked with every second.

"And yet," Stein began, smoke poured from his mouth," I was able to sneak up on you."

This earned Stein a growl from BlackStar.

"Look," Stein began, his tone caught BlackStar off guard," Tsubaki's right, you two should get back to your homes,"

BlackStar looked at Stein confused.

"Fine." He said finally, he leapt from the spire and landed a few meters from Tsubaki.

They both began to walk home.

"What was that about?" Tsubaki asked.

BlackStar simply shook his head.

Stein watched them go from the spire, he sighed, smoke rolled past his lips.

He wiped his sweating brow.

"Damn." He muttered as he too dropped from the spire.

He landed ungracefully and began to move into the academy.

**At Kid's mansion.**

"I don't see how not being symmetrical would keep you from walking." Liz stated.

Kid simply shrugged.

"If I walk then only one side would hurt." He replied.

Liz simply laughed at this.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Doesn't that mean that only one side is hurt right now," she asked, he stopped and looked at her," right now you're not symmetrical."

She pointed at him teasingly, he grabbed his head and began to freak out, much to Patty's amusement.

Even she began to laugh at his blathering.

"No this is bad," he rambled," I'm so useless, I shou-"

Liz kept laughing for a few seconds before she realised he had stopped.

"Kid?" she asked when she noticed he was staring in a random direction.

He had a strange expression on his face, a mix between fear and confusion.

Sweat beaded on his brow.

"Kid," she called again, with genuine concern, she rose from her seat, even Patty had stopped laughing,"Kid?"

She called his name until she grabbed his shoulders and gave him a shake, he came to his senses.

"What?" he asked, looking straight at her.

"What was that?" she asked.

"What was what?" he shot back.

She shook her head, clearly annoyed.

"Whatever," she huffed, she stood up and walked towards the bedrooms," c'mon it's getting late."

"Right," Kid agreed, he pushed himself from the wheelchair and began to limp after them," let's go."

Liz simply stopped and watched him pass in shock, her gaze snapped from him and back to the wheelchair.

Finally she sighed and kept walking.

"Probably not important." She muttered to herself, grateful that she didn't have to wheel him around anymore.

When they had all left the room another figure shifted from outside the window.

The fishhook mask shone in the light.

"Found you, too." The woman muttered before disappearing into the dark shadows of the night.

**In the Death Room.**

"Lord Death." Stein called, he threw down his cigarette and stepped on it.

"Huh," Lord Death huffed in his usual voice," yes Stein what is it?"

Stein began to turn the screw in his head, the clicks echoed throughout the large room.

"She's here." Stein finally stated.

Silence filled the massive room.

"I'm sorry," Death Scythe began, he stepped into view from behind Lord Death," who's here?"

"Are you sure, Stein," Lord Death asked, ignoring Death Scythe," are you absolutely sure?"

Stein nodded.

"I felt the wavelength myself," he assured Lord Death," there's no doubt about it."

"Will someone tell me who you two are talking about?" Death Scythe asked.

"It's her," Lord Death repeated, Death Scythe sighed," Fisher is here."

"Indeed I am." A woman's voice echoed through the Death Room, all three began to turn to the entrance.

The masked person was definitely her, as she carried herself in a very cautious and serious manner as she approached them.

When she reached the platform they were on she stopped and looked them over.

First was Stein, who she took an involuntary step away from.

Next was Death Scythe, she flexed her fingers while doing so, the joints cracked from the motion.

Next was Lord Death, she cocked her head, as did he.

They stared at each other for some time before she suddenly bowed her head.

Stein and Death Scythe both looked stunned.

"It's been a long time," she stated, her head still lowered," father."

**Author's Note: ****Hey guys it's Gorse the Almighty, (it's just my screen name) and this was chapter one of my fanfic, Blood Laced Wine.**

**First off, I'd like to thank you in advance for any criticism you may have and I look forward to your comments.**

**So yeah, I went for the "realistic" approach where they essentially just got back from the kishin fight and they're all recuperating in their own way, so ya, I messed up Maka's arm and had it that Soul was burned, bite me. :E **

**This is my first public piece of writing and I hope I caught your attention (which I probably did with that ending, I apologise for that btw.)**

**Please try to be as honest as possible as I'm writing a book and I'm doing this to hone my writing skills even though I'm ten chapters into it, looking back though, it needs some major rewriting which may take some time out of this.**

**I have the next chapter written already and I'm just looking it over so by the time I get some reviews it should be fit to be graced with your viewing.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to hearing from you.**

**P.S. the quotes that I'm attempting to start chapters with, they're all from characters in the book I'm writing, which also goes for most if not all characters I introduce.**

**I'm just trying to see how people take these characters before I tweek them to fit in my book, with the exception of Fisher and some others that I'll name later.**

**If you have any questions involving this then feel free to ask.**

**Hey if you guys are up for it, let's play a game.**

**Try to guess the reasoning behind the name Blood Laced Wine.**

**The answer may surprise you. :3**

** -GorseT**


	2. Chapter 2: Home Sweet Home?

They say that death is only the beginning.

I've always wondered; "the beginning of what?"

But every time I ask they just look at me all cross.

I never get an answer.

-Vladimir McClissey

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

Lord Death and Fisher both looked at each other from behind their masks.

She bowed her head, much to the surprise of both Stein and Death Scythe.

"It's been a long time," she said, her head still lowered," father."

Both Death Scythe and Stein physically flinched.

"What!?" cried Death Scythe, he started to get flustered.

Lord Death turned to him.

Death Scythe rolled into a ball and began whimpering incoherently.

"There he goes again." Stein huffed.

Lord Death turned with his arm raised.

"Reaper!" was all he could manage before five knifes stuck into the ground around Death Scythe.

Death Scythe jumped up and stumbled backwards, falling off of the platform.

Lord Death stood there with his hand raised, thinking about what had just happened.

"Might I suggest," Fisher began, her arm outstretched in a throwing position," that only those who are serious about this remain?"

Lord Death looked at her for a moment.

"Chop!" he suddenly yelled, he chopped Fisher over the head, she was carried from the platform.

Her mask clattered to the ground.

Fisher rose to her knees, lower half of her face was covered in a black cloth, though she covered much of the left side of her face with her gloved hand while she waved her reddish hair to cover the right.

"Maybe you should leave too," she offered as she rose to her feet," father."

Lord Death picked up her mask and turned it over in his large hands.

"I'm not your father." He assured her.

She let out a laugh.

"Oh ho," she chuckled," is that any way to speak to me of all people?"

He tilted his head to the side.

She strode towards him.

"I already knew that," she huffed with a frown," Greg told me everything."

Lord Death looked at her for a moment.

"But," she continued, as she approached," what else can I call the one who is responsible for my existence?"

Lord Death held her mask out to her, she walked up and swiped it from him before turning around and walking back to where she was standing.

Stein watched the woman as she stopped walking, she brushed her hair out of her face and slid the mask back on before turning to face them.

Stein noticed blood dripping from both the case on her back and from her right glove, a red handprint was left on the white of the mask.

"Whose blood is that?" he asked with no apparent interest.

Fisher looked at him.

"I got bored." She replied.

"That's not what I asked." He shot back, his weight shifted, as did hers.

Lord Death slashed at the air in their direction, both turned to him.

"Calm down," he ordered, his gaze moved from one to the other," both of you."

Stein was the first to straighten, Fisher eyed Lord Death and Stein, she raised her arms in a mock defensive manner before doing the same.

"Fisher," Lord Death began, her gaze seemed to shoot through her mask," whose blood is that?"

She crossed her arms.

"It wasn't an innocent this time," she assured him in a childish tone," honest."

Lord Death shook his head.

"This time?" Death Scythe asked, now back on the platform.

Fisher turned to him, he took a step back.

Fisher turned to her knives, with a wave of her hand they sprung up from the ground and returned to her, she slipped them into her left sleeve.

"Yeah," she confirmed, she had an eerie tone in her voice," this time."

The four of them looked at each other.

Lord Death finally let out a laugh.

All eyes turned to him as he laughed.

Both Stein and Death Scythe looked confused.

"Ah Fisher," he said when he stopped," what do you want?"

This time it was her turn to laugh.

She did so for a few moments, it was slightly crazed and sadistic.

"I wish to enroll in the DWMA." She suddenly stated very seriously mid laugh.

The room fell silent, no one seemed to even breathe.

Lord Death looked down at her.

"Okay." He replied, the three of the looked at him, shocked.

"R-really?" she stammered.

"Well that depends," Lord Death replied," why do you want to get enrolled in a class?"

She looked at her feet.

"The kishin is dead," she explained," so there's that and I've got nothing better to do."

Lord Death looked at her.

"You want to enroll in classes because you're bored?" Stein asked.

She glanced at him, her eyes again pierced through her mask.

"Yes." She replied.

"Interesting." He simply muttered.

Lord Death shook his head.

"Alright," he said, she clasped her hands together," but we need some ground rules."

She frowned.

"This again?" she asked.

"First rule," he began, ignoring her," listen to your teachers, Stein and myself in particular."

She nodded.

"Fair enough." She stated.

"Second rule," he continued," try to make some friends."

She scoffed at the notion.

"Yeah right," she said," what next use my real name?"

"Now that you mention it, yes." He shot back.

She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Whatever." She huffed, annoyed.

"And finally," he started," no killing your fellow students."

"Hey no fair," she shouted," no killing, not at all?"

"You can hurt them if necessary," he explained, he pointed a large finger at her," but no killing."

She clenched her fists, but soon relaxed them.

"That actually sounds like more fun." She said.

"I also need you to stay in an apartment in the city," he stated," which will be under constant supervision."

"Follow the laws and you can remain a student." Stein chimed in.

She turned to him in silence.

"Stein," Lord Death called, he turned towards the Reaper," show her to her new home, you know which one I'm talking about."

"Right," Stein replied, he began to walk towards the exit of the Death Room," let's go."

She looked at Lord Death before following the doctor out.

When they had both left, Death Scythe approached Lord Death.

"Damn it." Lord Death muttered in his old voice.

This surprised Death Scythe.

"Lord Death," he asked, the Reaper turned towards him," who is that woman?"

Lord Death looked at Death Scythe, he shook his head.

"That woman isn't even out of her teens." He explained.

"What?" Death Scythe asked.

"In fact," Lord Death continued," she's a bit younger than your daughter Maka."

"What," Death Scythe almost shouted," the way you two were talking she sounded-"

"She sounded what, older, more experienced," Lord Death inquired," there's a reason she talks like that and it's the same reason she hasn't been in the city up until now."

The two of them stood in silence.

"I knew she would approach me," Lord Death continued," but I never imagined that it would be so soon after we moved the city back into position."

He sighed.

"Is her being here going to disrupt the rebuilding?" Death Scythe asked.

"Spirit," Lord Death began, Death Scythe looked at the Reaper in surprise at his tone,"if she disrupts anything we won't have to worry about rebuilding."

Death Scythe looked at Lord Death confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

**In Maka and Soul's apartment.**

"Damn," Soul breathed from the couch," this is so uncool."

Maka peeked through her bedroom door.

"What is?" she asked, she was in her PJs, she glanced at the clock, it was past midnight.

She had also removed the bandages on her cheeks.

"Oh just the fact that it's our first day back," he began, he stretched out, he winced and relaxed," and the most we've done is throw out old food."

Maka adjusted her sling, she had to agree, it was rather boring.

Though their apartment wasn't destroyed, some of their things were gone, some books and records.

Even Blair was nowhere to be found.

"We can't even sleep." Soul continued, he sighed.

Again, she agreed with Soul, the pain medication for her side and his burns would keep them from sleeping well for the next few days.

"Yeah," she said as she leaned against a wall," I guess that's the price to pay for-"

She stopped midsentence, Soul looked at her confused.

"Not this again." He sighed as he sunk into the couch.

"No," she said, it caught him off guard," I'm still here."

"Then why did you stop talking?" he asked, he watched as she went to the window closest to him.

She began to unlock it.

"Hey Maka," he called, he rose from the couch," hey, what are you doing?"

He approached her as she managed to get the window open, she looked outside.

"There." She stated, she pointed to two people who were walking together.

Soul looked at the pair.

"Hey," he said," isn't that Stein?"

"Yeah, but," Maka started," who's that he's with?"

They watched Stein and the mystery person move past their house.

Maka pushed away from the window and grabbed a jacket from the rack.

"Hey," Soul called," what are you doing?"

"I'm following them." She answered plainly, she slipped into the black jacket and moved for the door.

Soul grabbed her left shoulder.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" he asked.

She turned her head to look at him.

"Yeah," she replied, she walked towards the door, his grasp slipped and she opened the door, she turned back to him," you coming?"

He laughed for a few seconds.

"Yeah I'm coming." He stated before following her out.

**In the streets.**

Stein and Fisher walked down the street that her apartment was on.

They had passed Maka and Soul's a little while ago.

"Classes start in a few days," Stein told Fisher, who had been quiet the whole walk down," until then try to refrain from contact with the other students."

She looked at him.

"You expected this." She stated, it wasn't a question.

Stein sighed.

"Yes and no," he answered frankly, there was no point to arguing with the woman," we didn't think you'd show up so soon."

She nodded.

Stein glanced at her.

"What's going on," he thought to himself," she was talking to Lord Death just a while ago and now her behavior is completely different."

He looked at the case on her back, blood still dripped from its seams.

"Whatever's in there must be bathing in it." He thought.

She kept walking in silence.

She looked to the end of the road, a single small house stood there, it had no immediate neighbours.

"Good," she thought," the lonelier, the better."

She felt a presence behind them, she shrugged off then feeling.

"We're being followed." She muttered, three knives fell in between her fingers, she held them at the ready.

"I wouldn't." Stein warned.

"And why not?" she asked without giving him so much as a glance.

"Because Lord Death told you not to." He explained.

She frowned, but accepted his logic, for the time being.

"Whatever." She almost spat, the knives soon disappeared up her sleeves.

They were almost at the front door.

Ten meters back, Maka and Soul were crouched in the shadows of the alley that Stein and the mysterious person had cut through.

Maka's left hand was on the ground.

"Did they see us?" she asked.

Soul turned from the wall and shook his head.

"I don't think so." He replied.

She sighed.

"Knowing Stein, he probably has an idea of where we are." She stated, Soul nodded in agreement.

He watched them for a few more seconds.

"I think they're headed for that house at the end." He whispered, he pointed to the small house.

"Which one?" she asked, she moved forward, her hand felt wet as it left the ground.

She stopped.

"What the-" she started, she moved her hand into the light.

The sticky red blood coated her palm and much of her fingers.

Her breath caught in her throat.

"What is it?" Soul asked, he turned and saw her red hand.

A few strands of blood still connected Maka to the small pool on the ground.

"What the hell?" he slowly asked, he looked at the pool of blood, he noticed that there were more behind them.

He then saw that they followed Stein and that person.

"Hey," he whispered, he nudged Maka's shoulder," I think it's coming from that person."

Maka just kept staring at her hand.

"Hey, Maka, c'mon," he attempted, he nudged her once more," hey I think I see a faucet in the next yard over, c'mon, if we move now we can get there without them noticing."

He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to her feet.

She nodded and followed him across the street, she kept the bloody hand away from her clothes.

The "next yard over" was almost beside the house that Stein and this person were headed for.

When they reached the yard they immediately moved towards the faucet.

In order to stay under the radar, Soul barely turned the handle of the faucet, resulting in a pitiful amount of water to stream from it.

"God, this is so gross." Maka whined as the thin trickle of cold water hit the blood.

Soul nodded as he kneaded her hand, the blood was washed away eventually, but it left a stain on their skin, it looked like someone drew on them with a red marker.

"It's not coming off anymore." Soul stated sadly as he looked at his own hands, they had some red on them, but Maka's palm was almost completely covered.

"Damn." she huffed as she turned the handle of the faucet, the water stopped flowing.

They moved to a better position, from which they saw only the strange person, who was now entering the house.

"Where's Stein?" Soul asked, he looked around the street.

Maka scanned the street as well.

"I don't know," she whispered back," he's just gone."

"Maybe they killed him." Soul joked.

This earned him a smack to the side of the head.

"Hey ow!" he yelped, the person stopped their ascent of the steps to look around.

When they continued Maka reprimanded Soul.

"Nice, you almost gave us away." She hissed.

"Well if you hadn't of hit me!" he shot back in a hushed voice.

"Well, don't make jokes in these situations." She retorted.

The sound of the door closing caught their attention.

"They're inside," Maka stated, a light snapped on and shone through a window," over there."

She moved towards the window with Soul in tow.

They both took up a position on either side of the wooden frame.

Soul was the first to peek over the side, he quickly ducked down.

"What is it?" Maka asked.

"They just came into the room," he whispered, he peeked over the side once more," I think they're distracted."

Maka nudged over until she too could see into the room.

Inside was a bedroom of sorts, it was generic and not listed for a boy or a girl really.

The walls were blue with an under railing of white with a red king size bed.

The person was facing away from the window, they were removing their heavy clothes.

Under the long jacket, the person wore a mid-riff cut-off shirt, though the skin was covered in bandages.

The body type was that of a mature woman.

"Whoa." Soul blurted.

This earned him a glare from Maka, but they nonetheless kept looking.

What caught her eye was the flat case on the end table, it was black with red trim, it was meant to carry a weapon by the build.

Maka motioned to the case, Soul followed her gaze.

A red liquid still oozed from its seams.

Soul pointed out her knives, which were strewn across three small tables.

"Man," Maka stammered," this person has like, a hundred knives."

The room was otherwise normal, until Maka saw something.

On the table beside the changing person and unlike any of the other weapons, instead of being layed out, two knives stood with the blades stuck in the wood.

She pointed to this and Soul searched for what she meant.

"What," he asked, his face moved in front of the glass," what is it?"

"She's got two knives set aside." She explained.

Soul strained to see.

"Where?" he asked.

She sighed silently, she looked back to the person.

"Right ther-" was all she could manage before the window shattered.

A thud was heard from under her chin.

Soul was thrown back and a distant clang was heard.

Soul sat up he held his left cheek, blood seeped from under his hand.

Maka simply sat there with wide eyes, not moving a muscle.

"Damn it," Soul cursed under his breath, he looked at Maka," hey, you ok?"

Maka couldn't answer him.

"Hey, don't do that," he hissed as he moved towards her," I said, are y-"

He stopped once he saw what was freaking her out.

One of the woman's knives had the blade sticking through the wall, the tip of which was resting on Maka's throat, a single drop of blood rolled down her neck.

She simply blinked in shock.

"Hey Maka," Soul stammered, he managed to get her away from the knife," snap out of it."

Maka still just stared at the blade that almost claimed her life, blood dripped from its tip and onto the matted grass.

"Enjoying the view?" the woman inside asked, Soul turned to her, he flinched when he saw that she was practically hanging out of the window.

Maka turned to the masked woman, who turned to face her as well.

"That wasn't a full stick." The woman growled.

"What?" Soul managed.

The mask dipped towards the knife in the wall.

"That blade still has a good three inches to the hilt," the woman explained, she swung so that the mask was in Maka's face," barely one and you'd be dead right now."

All Maka could do was stare back at the mask.

Soul moved to grab the woman who brandished three more knives and stuck them to his stomach, she didn't even glance at him.

"Don't touch me," The woman growled, the voice sounded like death itself, "and don't move or your girlfriend dies."

Soul squirmed under the pressure of his burns and the three blades on his stomach.

"She's not my-"he attempted.

Her mask was in his face before he could react.

"I don't think that that should be very high on your list of priorities right now." The woman hissed.

Blood dripped down Soul's face, he caught a glimpse of green behind the eye slits.

Her mask cocked to one side, she traced his body with the knives, his shirt began to tear even though she was barely in contact with it.

Two of the blades were tucked into her palm while the last traveled over his neck, she traced the circumference of his throat, all the while she looked him dead in the eyes from behind that mask.

The single blade tickled his flesh and despite being extremely sharp with a user who seemed to not be paying any attention to it, he felt no bite from the metal.

He felt constricted, he shot a few worried glances over to where Maka was, she still sat in her dazed position.

His gaze returned to the masked woman who was holding him dead to rights.

They stared at each other for a few more seconds.

"Leave." She ordered before disappearing into the window, curtains fluttered into place in her wake.

Soul heaved the breath he had been holding, he fell backwards.

A glint caught his attention and he had just enough time to move out of the way of the knife as it flew back into the window.

"What the-" he began, he shook his head, that wasn't important.

He rose to his feet.

He grabbed Maka by the shoulders and hoisted her to her feet.

"C'mon let's go!" He stammered as he led her back home.

Unknown to both of them, they ran past Stein in their mad dash for safety.

He watched them go.

"Interesting," he said to himself," I've never seen such a powerful Nightmare wavelength in action, or at all really."

He turned the screw in his head, it clicked in the heavy air.

"For someone so young to cause such an effect on Maka's thought process," he noted, he brought out his lighter and a cigarette," if this girl were to move against Death City, it would be disastrous."

He chuckled as he lit his smoke.

"Such an interesting specimen." He laughed as he moved towards the academy.

**In the Death Room.**

Lord Death looked at Spirit, who looked back at him.

"You can't be serious." Spirit stated.

Lord Death looked at the death scythe, he shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I am," he assured him," she is very dangerous."

Spirit looked the Reaper over.

"And it's a good idea to just let her be here in the city?" Spirit asked.

"What else are we going to do," Lord Death asked," whether she's inside the walls or outside of them, she's still a threat, atleast now we can try to hold her in one place."

Spirit crossed his arms.

"Will she be sent on missions?" he asked.

Lord Death cocked his head.

"These are a lot of questions Spirit," he noted," is something wrong?"

"Yes, I mean," Spirit attempted," no, I-I'm just worried that's all, I mean she'll be in the same class as my little Maka."

Lord Death looked at Spirit.

"Other than his fixation with Maka," he thought," he is right to be concerned."

Lord Death looked at the large mirror on the platform.

"How many more days?" he asked.

Spirit turned and looked at him.

"We have two days until classes resume." Spirit told him.

Lord Death looked at one of the many crosses in the room.

"Then let's hope nothing goes wrong." He muttered.

**Back at Maka and Soul's apartment.**

Soul and Maka burst through the front door of their apartment, Soul quickly turned and slammed the door shut.

He sighed and turned to see that Maka was sprawled out on the floor, she was staring off into space.

He saw that her neck was still bleeding and fetched a cloth, he began to clean the blood from her neck.

Suddenly she yelled in fright and pushed him away, his head smashed into the wall, his vision blurred.

"Soul!" she yelped, she rushed to his side a few seconds later.

She helped him to the couch, there was a dent in the drywall.

"What happened," she asked when he was seated," you're bleeding."

He looked at her confused.

"What," he asked, he felt the back of his head," you pushed me."

She backed away from him, she held her knees close.

"I'm sorry." She stated, her voice was all too familiar.

"Oh no," he started, he shifted into a more comfortable position," we are not doing this again."

She looked at his cut face confused.

"Doing what?" she asked.

"Doing the Chrona thing again," he replied with annoyance in his voice," y'know when I got cut, you got all depressed and you're doing it again."

"I just said sorry!" she shot back.

They both crossed their arms and looked away from each other.

Maka felt something roll down her collar bone, which she wiped with her free hand.

She looked at the drop of blood on her finger.

She brought her hand to her pained neck and did the same.

"Why am I bleeding?" she asked as she got to her feet.

She walked over to the kitchen sink, where she wet a cloth.

Soul watched her go, not believing his ears.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm bleeding." She repeated.

"Yeah I know," he stated, he rose to his shaky feet," but you don't remember how you got cut?"

She turned to look at him.

"Why do you say it like that?" she asked.

**In the Death Room.**

"Lord Death I'm back." Stein announced.

He walked to the platform and joined Spirit and Lord Death.

The Reaper turned to Stein.

"So Stein," he began," how was your walk with Fisher?"

Stein stopped a few meters away from Lord Death.

"You may want to know that I saw her wavelength in action." He answered frankly.

Lord Death and Spirit both turned to face him directly.

"Who was it?" Lord Death asked.

Stein took a drag from his cigarette, he threw down the butt and stepped on it.

"Maka and Soul." He replied.

"See," Spirit shrieked," this is exactly what I was talking about, she's in the city for a few hours and she attacks my little-"

"Reaper," Lord Death shouted, his hand raised high," Chop!"

His large hand smashed into Spirit's head and dropped him to the ground, where he stayed for the time being.

Lord Death turned back to Stein.

"What happened?" he asked.

**In Fisher's new house.**

Fisher removed her mask and tossed it onto a table, the cloth over her face soon followed her pale skin winked in the light.

She untied the black cord around her hair and let the red locks fall.

She removed her shirt and pants and began to unravel the bandages covering her skin.

A few minutes later, she was redressed and grabbing her heavy parka from off of the bed.

She sighed as she laid it out as far from the window as possible.

She frowned at the draft, she wandered over to the empty pane.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, when she reopened them the green had faded to an ominous grey, she stood unblinking.

With some concentration and she raised her hand, shards of glass lifted themselves from the dirt and assembled in the pain, her eyes narrowed from the effort and she bit her lip, blood slowly dripped from her sharp teeth.

Soon the glass shards had begun to reconnect, forming large cracks that began to fade.

Suddenly she pitched forward, the glass stopped its reforming, a large crack remained to lash around at the pane.

She coughed into a gloved hand, an eerie black liquid connected her lips to the glove when she brought it away.

Her eyes rushed with colour once more and she eyed her work.

She frowned at the large wed of cracks still in the glass, despite this, it kept the wind at bay.

She slowly closed the curtains and walked to her parka on the floor, on her way, she grasped the blankets on the bed and pulled them with her.

She laid the blankets onto the wood floor before rolling the parka into a ball.

She flicked the light off and nestled into the heavy blankets, she rested her head on the rolled up parka and stayed there, looking up at the ceiling.

She pondered on Lord Death's words.

"Make some friends." He had ordered.

She gritted her sharp teeth together.

"How?" she muttered before turning over.

**Back at Maka and Soul's apartment.**

Soul had just finished recapping what had happened.

"And so I grabbed you and ran us the hell out of there," he stated," when we got back you were zoned out, so I started wiping away the blood, you freaked out and pushed me into the wall and here we are."

Maka simply stared at her weapon partner as he finished the bandage on her neck.

"Really?" she asked.

Soul sat down on the couch once more, he now had a bandage on his left cheek.

"Yeah pretty much," he confirmed," you really don't remember?"

She closed her eyes and tried to remember.

"I remember," she began," the house an-and the room and b-blood and knives."

Soul looked at her, she was getting frustrated.

"Anything else?" he asked.

She strained to sift through her head.

"The person," she attempted," the person is a woman."

"Yeah," he confirmed," they are."

Soul sat there awkwardly before moving towards his room.

"Soul?" she called.

"Yeah?" he asked.

He looked at her for a few seconds, she stared at her red hand.

"I-I don't," she tried," I don't think I-."

"It's OK," he assured her, she turned to him, he returned to the couch," who needs sleep anyway?"

She smiled at him.

**In the Death Room.**

"That's crazy," Spirit yelled," my Maka is way too good to crack like that!"

Stein looked at him.

"I know what I saw." He assured Spirit.

"Lord Death," Spirit called," tell him that Maka couldn't of-"

"Enough," Lord Death yelled, Spirit stopped his rambling," what Stein has said is most likely true."

Spirit was taken aback by this.

"But-but Maka killed the kishin," he stated," wouldn't that make her very powerful?"

Lord Death turned to Spirit.

"This young girl may very well be stronger than Asura in time." He stated.

Both Stein and Spirit were surprised by this.

"If that's the case then why is she here?" Stein asked.

"Because she is supposed to be," Lord Death shot back," now let's leave it at that."

The three of them stood in silence for what felt like an eternity.

"Who is this girl?" Spirit asked.

Lord Death looked into the mirror on the platform.

"Her name is Alexis." He finally said.

**Auther's Note: ****Sup bros, it's me Gorse the Almighty.**

**I just wanted to thank you for reading the second chapter of my story.**

**Sorry about the slight mislead, the whole thing will make a lot of sense in the next few chapters I promise.**

**I just couldn't bring myself to include it in this chapter, don't ask me why, my subconscious really controls me when I'm writing and I am not the kind of person who can go against it at will so to speak. :/**

**Anyway, I hope you can forgive me, though I have come up for excellent reasoning behind the whole "father" thing.**

**Well, I think I did anyway. **

**The complete explanation may be a tad long so, when it comes, wall of text may not suffice or it may, I really dfk at this point.**

**All I know is that the next few chapters are done-ish so, look forward to them soon…ish.**

**Whatever, bit of a spoiler, shit may or may not go down during the rest of this story (yes it does, there aren't enough fans for the shit to hit). Jk jk**

**On a side note, my computer has shitty antennae for wi-fi and I may be left in the dark for months on end so updates may be very scarce, but I'll upload when I can or when I feel the time is right.**

**If I just forgot I'll own up to it, but if I say I couldn't have updated that much I mean I legitimately couldn't have updated that much. **

**And before you say;" but Gorse you could just hook up your computer to Ethernet" I've tried that ok, I don't have an open jack for that anywhere in the vicinity of my room ( btw it's a desktop sooooooo ya) so I'm fairly boned on that **

**I'm also in the middle of unpacking my crap from a cross-canada move, I was lucky to get my computer this early in the first place.**

**Both of these may hamper my progress, but if the internet is down for the PC I can still write so I'll just keep writing and maybe just do a mass update (I probably won't), but the unpacking will just stop me from doing both, it should be done soon enough though. **

**Btw, it may not seem like it, but I'm struggling to not include swearing into both the story and my notes, please let me know if a few f-bombs and the like can be dropped, within reason of course.**

**I mean come on, it's not that bad and I've had to rewrite some these two chapters to avoid as much swearing as possible, which may be all at the moment.**

**Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon.**

**P.S. that little game will go on either until I get bored and spill (which will probably be never) or until I get a lot of guesses.**

**Hell, I may just post the answer in one of the upcoming chapters as an easter egg.**

**Keep your eyes peeled if that's the case as I'll probably tell you what I've decided.**

**Thanks again and I look forward to those guesses.**

**-GorseT**


	3. Chapter 3

Every once in a while you've just got to do something crazy.

If you don't, then the next time you do something crazy,

It'll be insane.

You can't stay composed forever.

And the longer you try to

The worse it gets.

-Seth McClissey

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

**In Maka and Soul's apartment.**

Maka blinked her eyes open.

A day had passed since the incident at the house.

Maka pushed her blankets away from her and glanced at the clock, it was seven in the morning.

She sighed and got out of bed to get changed.

"Just one more day." She muttered as she approached her closet.

As soon as the door was opened, out jumped Blair.

"Heeeyyy!" the cat yelled as she bounded into Maka.

Maka was taken off guard and was soon knocked over from the force of the blow.

"Ow." She huffed annoyed.

"Sorry Maka," Blair apologised," but I was so excited to see you guys again, I wanted it to be a surprise!"

Soul came out of his room, he knocked on the door.

"Hey, Maka," he called, a hint of worry in his voice," you OK?"

She managed to sit up.

"Yeah I'm fine," she assured him," Blair's back."

Ten minutes later.

"So you decided to hide in her closet?" Soul asked, they were all eating breakfast.

He was dressed in a blue t-shirt with grey pants.

"What," Blair shot back," was that a bad idea?"

"What I don't get is when you managed to do it," Maka stated," we didn't leave the house at all yesterday."

Maka had dressed in her usual casual wear of a t-shirt and light pants with a jacket over top, the collar was flipped up to cover her neck.

"Oh, that couldn't stop me," Blair beamed," I just came in through the window while you were asleep."

Soul shook his head.

A knock on the door caught their attention.

"I'll get it." Soul said as he got up.

He was surprised to see Kid, Liz and Patty standing in the doorway, Liz and Patty in white shirts with beige shorts while Kid wore a black shirt with grey pants.

"Hey guys," he stammered," what's up?"

Kid looked at Soul and then Maka.

"I need to speak to you two," he stated," now."

The urgency in his voice was very evident.

"Yeah sure-" Soul attempted, but Kid had already started walking away.

Liz shrugged at him and followed Kid with Patty in tow.

Soul looked back at Maka with a puzzled looked on his face.

"C'mon," she said, pushing away from the table she fiddled with her sling and walked towards the door," nice seeing you Blair."

And with that, they left, leaving Blair on the table.

The cat sighed.

"Aw," she whined," I'd hoped for the three of us to have some fun together, oh well."

She hopped to the closest window.

"Guess I'll just have to find my own fun." She stated before jumping out of the apartment and into the streets below.

Meanwhile Maka and Soul had just caught up to Kid.

"Hey wait up," Soul demanded," what's going on?"

Kid stopped at the beginning of a street, he pointed to the lonely house at the end.

"Oh," Soul huffed," that."

Liz looked at Soul.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"So you two know as well." Kid stated.

Soul nodded.

"How long?" Kid inquired.

"Since the night before yesterday." He answered frankly.

"And you never thought about telling me?" Kid asked, he turned to both Soul and Maka.

Maka looked away from him.

"Hey," Soul started," you don't know what happened!"

"That's right I don't," Kid shot back," so maybe you can start from the beginning!"

The two of them kept yelling at each other like this while Liz, Patty and Maka all stood to the side.

Liz looked at Maka's left hand.

"Hey," she began," did you draw on yourself or something?"

This caught both Soul and Kid's attention.

Maka simply closed her fist and looked away.

"It's blood." She muttered, to no one in particular.

Everyone except for Soul stared at Maka, he simply shook his head.

Liz turned to Soul.

"Wait," she began, she pointed to the bandage on his cheek," that wasn't there a few days ago."

"No it wasn't," Maka confirmed, she pulled back her uptuned collar, revealing her new bandage as well," and neither was this."

Liz and Kid both looked at Maka and Soul, while Patty was off in her own little world.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Liz asked.

Maka shook her head.

"She doesn't remember." Soul explained.

Kid and Liz turned to him.

"What," he asked," she doesn't?"

Soul leaned up against a wall.

"It was weird," he began, he eyed the small house," and the person in that house is crazy."

Kid looked at the house.

"Do you remember?" Kid asked Soul nodded.

"Yeah," he stated," but it just seemed fake, like it wasn't really happening."

**Thirty feet above the group.**

Fisher was lying on the roof of one of the buildings on her new street.

She sighed behind her mask, she wasn't wearing her heavy parka today, but she still wore the cut-off shirt and bandages.

She had her red hair in a ponytail.

She was hanging her head over the side of the flat roof, she looked down.

"Hm, what's this?" she asked aloud as she looked at the group below her.

A strange noise emitted from the case on her back, it sounded like a dying breath.

"OH you're right Ko," she said, she looked at Soul and Maka," it is those two from before."

Her attention was grabbed by the sight of Kid, she clasped her hands together.

"Oo," she cooed," it's him."

The case leaked a large drop of blood onto the roof, she swiped some up onto her gloved finger and she looked at it thoughtfully.

She listened to the conversation.

"Was she really with Stein?" Liz asked

Soul nodded.

Fisher studied the souls of the five people below her.

"Boy, they look appetizing," she muttered," she rolled the large drop of blood in the palm of her glove," right Ko?"

The case moaned once more.

She suppressed a laugh.

"Yeah," she replied," I guess we can't just kill them."

She gazed down once more, they were still talking.

"Whoever she is," Soul continued," she's crazy."

She stopped, the drop of blood rolled to the side of her slanted palm.

"We need to warn my father." Kid offered, the rest muttered their agreement.

Fisher gritted her teeth, the drop of blood reached the back of her hand.

She sharply lifted her hand, the drop fell towards the group.

**Back on the streets.**

"We need to warn my father." Kid stated, the rest agreed.

The five of them got ready to go.

The sound of something hitting the ground in the middle of the circle caught their attention.

Soul felt something fall into the hair in front of his face, he ran his fingers through it.

"What was that?" Liz asked, looking around.

One by one, everyone's attention turned to Soul, who was running his fingers through some bloody hair.

He looked at his hand, his mouth hung open.

Slowly he looked up, sure enough, there was the white mask looking back down at him.

"Are you talking about me for a reason?" the person called in a noticeably annoyed tone, everyone looked up at the voice.

"Is that-"Kid began.

"Yeah." Soul confirmed in a surprised tone.

The person flipped off of the roof and landed amidst the group, she pinned Soul against the wall with her forearm.

His feet dangled almost a foot off the ground as he tried to get her arm off of his throat.

Everyone backed away, excluding Maka, who made a grab for the woman.

This earned her a boot to the stomach which pushed her back a few meters.

"Shit," Kid thought," she's fast."

The person brandished three knives in her left hand, they seemed to appear from nowhere.

She rested these blades on Soul's stomach, they danced on the fabric of his shirt.

"Liz, Patty!" Kid called.

"Right." They both replied, they turned into their weapon modes and took their place with Kid.

Kid leveled the two at the woman.

"Let him go." He barked, the woman slowly turned to face him.

She roughly let Soul fall to the ground, he grabbed his throat and gasped for air, he had started to change colour.

She gave an audible huff of disappointment while shaking her head.

She turned towards her house and began walking, she moved right past Kid and his partners without even glancing at them, she could have disarmed him if she wanted to as all Kid could do was stare at her in disbelief.

Maka moved to Soul's side.

"Wha-"Kid blurted when the woman was behind him, he spun and raised Liz and Patty to aim at the back of her head," where are you going?"

She stopped walking.

The woman flexed her fingers, her knives disappeared.

Kid gritted his teeth.

"Are you going to shoot me?" the woman asked.

This caught him off guard.

"Y-yes." He stammered confused.

The woman laughed, she turned to face him.

She reached for the side of the case on her back with her right hand, a weapon shot out of the case and into her waiting fingers.

Kid looked at the weapon, it looked like an axe with a large blade and handle, the thick blade curved to the woman's fingers.

What caught his eye was the shape of the blade.

On the side with the handle there was a large curve that looped around itself, the rest of the back was straight and the outside of the curved blade ended with a large barb.

It looked like an oversized, bladed meat hook with a handle.

Blood fell from the weapon, it dripped onto the ground until not a single drop remained on the weapon.

"Lucky for you," she chuckled," Ko and I aren't very-"

She trailed off, Kid gripped his pistols tighter.

"Hungry." The woman finished in a hiss.

Her tone creeped Maka out.

"Soul, you OK?" she asked.

"Yeah." He replied, he began turning into a scythe.

She stood in fighting position.

"Maka," Kid began, not taking his eyes off of the woman," how can you fight with only one arm?"

"Who said that was ever a problem?" she shot back.

She loosened the loops on her sling and let it hit the ground.

She shakily clenched her fist a few times and moved her arm a bit, it still moved with a jerky range of motion however.

It obviously hadn't healed completely.

"I can fight with you," She assured Kid as she took her place beside him," and besides, we have a score to settle."

Kid simply smiled at her.

"Right." He muttered.

The woman straightened and sighed, all of them were surprised by this.

She turned her back to them and stretched her arms out.

"Oh I'm so BORED!" the woman wailed.

"HUH!?" All of them blurted.

Her weapon moaned, she turned to face them again.

"I know, I'm sorry," she assured it," I need more serious prey for you."

She took the case from her back and opened it on the ground.

She put the weapon back in the case and closed it.

She replaced the case on her back and looked at them.

"So sorry," she said, looking right at Kid, she began to turn," but I'll be going now."

Kid shot at her feet, she stopped moving.

"I don't think so." He hissed.

The woman turned to him once again, she laughed.

He gritted his teeth.

"What's so funny?" he shouted.

She ignored him and kept laughing.

"It's good to see that father passed on something to you." She stated, she began to reach for her mask.

Kid and Maka tightened their grip on their weapons.

Her reddish hair swayed in the wind.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked her.

She gripped her mask and slowly pulled it from her face.

"It's been a long time," she stated as her green eyes locked with his," they call you Kid now, right?"

The lower half of her face was obscured with a black cloth, but she pulled this down as well.

At this point they saw that this "woman" was their age.

Her scarred face smirked at them.

"You have some new scars," Kid remarked, he lowered his pistols, Maka glanced at him confused," Alexis."

Alexis had a few scars on her pale face, one horizontal cut from her right jawbone and over her lips that ended right beneath two black cuts that ended at her ear and one more that began on the left of her nose and ended at her left brow.

Even with the scars, she still looked pretty, they looked like they belonged on her skin.

She smiled and clapped her hands together, her sharp teeth looked menacing.

"Oh you do remember!" she beamed, she was acting like Patty.

She untied her hair and let it fall to her elbows, the red shimmered gold.

"It has been so long," she started, her voice strangely sweet," I'd thought you had forgotten about me, father certainly hadn't."

Kid gritted his teeth.

"What does dad have to do with this?" he hissed, everyone looked at him shocked.

Alexis smiled at him.

"A lot actually," she scoffed," maybe you should have a chat with him."

"Wait," Soul started," you two are related?"

Alexis turned to him and Maka.

"Black blood hmm," she muttered, she grinned slightly," appetising."

Maka squirmed under her gaze.

"We're not blood siblings if that's what you mean," she stated with a slight frown, her eyes narrowed at Kid," we just have the same person to blame for our existence."

Her smirk returned.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Maka yelled.

She smiled widely once more at them.

"Ask him," she laughed, she pointed at Kid," he knows exactly who I was."

Kid glared at her.

"Was?" he repeated.

She giggled at him.

"A lot has changed," she explained," since then."

"Aren't you going to fight us?" Maka asked in a confused tone.

Alexis glanced at her.

"Again," Alexis began in an annoyed tone," Ko and I aren't hungry right now."

They both stared at each other for a few seconds.

"What are you doing here?" Kid finally asked, Alexis turned to him once more.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Well I can't lie to you," she giggled, she tilted her head slightly," I've enrolled in the academy."

All of them stared at her, her face changed, she frowned.

"Oh so transparent." She muttered, she pulled up the cloth and replaced her mask.

"You can't be serious!" Maka shouted.

The mask turned to her, she felt Alexis' gaze even through the mask.

"Like I said," Alexis assured her," I won't lie to Kid."

"Dad would never agree to that!" Kid shouted angrily.

This caused Alexis to physically flinch.

She slashed at the air with her hand.

"What would you know about father," she shouted," I spoke to him the night before yesterday, it's already happening!"

The group were taken aback by this.

Alexis turned from them and began walking.

"Alexis wai-" Kid tried.

"That name is for friends and family and all of you are neither," she yelled cutting him off, she stopped walking," until that is what we are, call me Fisher."

She resumed her trek to her house, leaving the five of them to process what had just happened.

The weapons all reverted to their human forms.

Soul handed Maka her sling.

She stared at the fabric for a few seconds.

"Kid," she began without looking at him," who is she?"

Everyone turned to Kid.

"She," he began, his eyes narrowed at the retreating girl," is a problem."

He turned and began walking.

"H-hey, Kid where are you going?" Maka called.

"WE are all going to see my father," he explained angrily," because WE need to talk to him."

His tone caused them to look at each other, Liz simply shrugged and began following Kid with Patty in tow.

Maka shot Soul a worried look before they too followed.

**Author's Note: ****hey It's me Gorse the Almighty.**

**Just wanted to say "fooled you" shit didn't go down this chapter, but it almost did. **

**Anyway as you can probably tell, Kid is pissed, "but why" you may ask, that may be answered next time. (might be answered)**

**I just couldn't bring myself to have any of the group fight her just yet, they're all wounded in some way so she sees them as unworthy opponents at the moment.**

**Besides I was thinking of a Maka and Soul vs Alexis and Ko match when the EAT class starts with sparring, just to establish her and Ko's abilities.(to an extent anyway)**

**And that's just a thought, I may do this I may not, let me know if you want the first (real) combat in the story to be a Maka and Alexis fight.**

**I for one think that would be epic, but if you think say Kid or BlackStar would be better( I hate him so much) then be my guest and let me know.**

**I'll probably do either the most badass sounding fight or the easiest to make, or if you guys want I can treat you with a fight of some other kind (I won't, jussayin) and test my skills in that matter.**

**This is, however the major reason I just couldn't have them fight yet, if they did that then whoever fights her won't be surprised by her style, which I think I made very well.**

**Just a warning, the next chapter is where this STARTS to get messed up, my combat is very blood and gore, hack and slash, gouge your eyes out fun… for the whole family.**

**Just a small warning, that's all, I did rate this as half horror right, right?**

**Anyway, if imaginary blood just makes you vomit out your internal organs just stop reading and take a breather, anyone who didn't die during any horror movie ever however will be able to handle it, which SHOULD be everyone, but if not then ok, no ending for you. :T **

**I'm not saying there will be combat next chapter and I'm not saying there won't be combat next chapter, I'm just saying that I'm going to let what happens in Microsoft Word, stay on the internet forever ok? **

**Ok.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, bye.**

**-GorseT**


	4. Chapter 4

Do you really want to know,

What's on a psychopath's canvas?

-Greg Terrance Zorski

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

**The Death room.**

Lord Death had just finished watching the ordeal between Alexis and the others via the mirror on the platform.

Lord Death turned to Spirit, he shook his head.

"If this keeps up she'll have the whole city know she's here." He mused.

"Yeah," Spirit agreed," should we keep her in the house?"

"No," Stein advised," doing that would only make her act rash."

All three of them nodded to themselves.

"In any case," Lord Death began," Kid and the others will be here soon, we need to be ready for them."

"Right." Both Spirit and Stein replied in unison.

"Stein, Spirit," he began, they both looked at him," this may be a good time for you to leave."

**An hour later.**

The group had just entered the Death Room's Gauntlet of Guillotines, their conversation could be heard from the platform.

"Kid," Liz said again," why are we doing this?"

"Because I'm pissed off that's why!" he shouted, his outburst caused the rest of them to stop and look at him, they soon resumed their journey however.

Kid was the first to reach the platform.

"Heya Kid," Lord Death beamed, turning to face his son," how's it going?"

"Dad," Kid huffed," you know exactly how it's going."

Lord Death tilted his head.

"Do I?" he asked.

"Lord Death, please," Maka cut in, the rest of the group filed in beside Kid," this Alexis person told us you let her become a student."

Lord Death looked at the group of students before him, all of them had been directly involved in the defeat of the kishin.

The only two not there at the moment were BlackStar and Tsubaki.

That earned them some time in the loop in his eyes.

"Alright," he said, he turned his back on the group, they all looked at him," but this conversation never happened."

Everyone boasted a surprised look on their face.

This was very strange behaviour for Lord Death.

"Deal." Kid agreed for everyone.

Lord Death turned to the mirror, the faces of the students behind him were reflected on it, with the exception of Kid and Maka, who were directly behind him.

He sighed.

"Yes it's true," he confirmed," I let her into the DWMA."

They all reacted in similar ways.

Some with gasps, others with questions, with Kid being the only one to remain silent.

When Lord Death turned, Kid was looking right into his mask.

He wasn't angry, just confused.

"Why?" Kid asked, the others all stopped and glanced at him.

Lord Death shrugged.

"She is an asset and a liability at the same time." Lord death explained.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Liz asked, she placed her hands in her pockets.

Maka shifted her weight.

"You're defending her." She stated, all eyes turned to her.

Lord Death clasped his large hands together, he pointed at Maka.

"Exactly," he confirmed," very good Maka."

Soul turned to him.

"How could someone that powerful need defending?" he asked.

Lord Death gazed at Soul.

"I'm not so sure you fully grasp this," he began," let me explain."

He moved away from the group slightly.

"There are many different kinds of souls, as you all know," he explained, a hint of sadness was in his voice," but there are a few kinds that stand out, most notably for this discussion are the kishin eggs and the Grigory souls, you see some souls are hard wired to become kishin eggs and will do so without the consumption of a pale soul."

Only Kid and Maka nodded in understanding.

"Is Alexis one of these?" Maka asked.

Before Kid could answer Lord Death shook his head.

"No," he denied gravely," unfortunately, there is another notable soul type that she belongs to."

Even Kid was surprised by this.

"W-what do you mean?" he asked.

Lord Death looked at the confused faces of the students.

"She has a Meshed soul," he revealed," her soul has been severely tampered with."

Silence filled the Death Room.

"How," Maka asked with wide eyes," how is that even possible?"

Lord Death tapped the mirror with a finger, a young looking ginger haired man with blue eyes appeared on the glass.

The group all looked at the man, he looked in his teens.

His right jaw, chin and cheek bones were all visible, but they were all a pale white and free of any muscle, it looked like someone had picked them clean with a tool of some sort.

"I want you to meet," Lord Death began, he waved their attention to the mirror," Gregory Terrance Zorski, ex- honorary reaper and my oldest friend."

The words echoed through the room, even Kid once more was wide eyed with shock.

"Ex-" Maka breathed.

"Reaper?" Kid finished.

"Correct," Lord Death replied," he is also Stein's predecessor."

Lord death looked directly at Kid.

They all looked at Lord Death.

"He wasn't an honorary reaper for very long," he continued," but in his time at the DWMA he displayed an unprecedented knowledge in the soul and how a soul worked, he even created the rot theory that Stein used to reanimate Sid."

He simply looked the group over.

"He very well may have been the first and last honorary reaper, thanks to his skills," he explained," he could read people like a book with a single glance."

He turned to look at the person in the mirror as well.

"He was a genius in every right," he explained," unfortunately he had lost his arm and much of the flesh and bone on his face due to a failed experiment, which drove him to create said rot theory, he created a new functional arm for himself and lengthened his lifespan to an unknown extent."

He pressed the mirror again, the image faded to a small, blonde girl.

"Ten years ago he vanished and left behind an experiment he had completed," he sighed sadly," this is Alexis."

The group eyed the sweet little girl on the screen, she smiled back in the still-frame, two black lines were on her left cheek.

"She was arguably the most powerful thing he created," he claimed," her soul was filled to the brim with as much as it could handle, which is still not completely realised."

He once more tapped the screen, the image fell to the same girl, but her skin was flayed, her hair tinged red and her skin was an ashen grey, her green eyes glowed slightly, her cheerful smile faded to a sinister frown.

"This is her most prominent wavelength," he explained, Maka attempted to not look into the eyes of the picture," her nightmare wavelength, the most powerful of its kind in the entire world, while Asura and his madness wavelength caused us so much trouble, in sheer power, the nightmare wavelength dwarfs it."

They all eyed him once more.

"How is that possible?" Soul asked.

"The madness wavelength while it seemed very potent," Lord Death began," it lacked any real power of its own, there are no fatalities from just the madness, the nightmare wavelength however even in much weaker cases than Alexis', can cause multiple deaths in a short amount of time from simply the wavelength being used."

They all exchanged nervous looks which Lord Death caught on to.

"However," he slowly began, they all eyed him," there are some very serious drawbacks to this wavelength."

The looks on the group's faces lifted slightly.

"The largest drawback in the nightmare wavelength is almost identical to the madness wavelength," Lord Death continued," not only can it leave the user drained, but it also can drive them mad, sometimes to the extent of just mindless killing, the curious part of this wavelength is it gives the host the ability to consume any soul, be it a pale soul or a kishin egg with no ill effects."

"Isn't that impossible," Maka asked," that would allow the person to-"

"Kill as much as they wanted," Kid stated," and get stronger without becoming a kishin egg."

Lord Death looked at both Kid and Maka.

"Yes that's right," he confirmed," one more drawback is simply the range of the wavelength, while Asura could affect the entire world in some way for as long as he did, Alexis would be pressed to affect the entirety of the academy grounds for even a few minutes, though she could seriously harm anyone in that range for that amount of time."

"Really," Soul remarked," that's lucky."

"Indeed." Lord Death agreed.

"Wait," Liz cut in," how is that lucky?"

"If she can't use it at a large range for very long," Maka explained," then she can't harm those close to her, we then find her once she stops."

"Unfortunately," Lord Death began," that won't be easy, she doesn't have a very strong resonance."

"What," Maka blurted," with such a powerful wavelength how is that possible?"

The mirror once more snapped to the image of Greg.

"It's because of his experiments," he admitted," she has full control over her soul's resonance and can hide even when using her wavelengths and when unconscious."

Both Maka and Kid groaned.

"If that's the case then if she leaves-" Maka began, she trailed off.

"She's gone." Kid finished.

"Right," Lord Death confirmed," which is why we need her here, it was sheer luck that she came here instead of the witches, if they find her then they'll use her against us, that CANNOT happen, we must keep her a secret while we study her in action."

The group all looked at each other.

"We still don't know what she is capable of," he continued," and that is some information we need to know, she will be attending classes with you for the time being, if you feel that she should be free to go on missions, let me know."

Maka seemed to glare at the image on the mirror.

"How could he do this to someone?" she asked no one in particular.

Lord Death turned to Maka.

"Because I asked him to." He stated.

This caught almost everyone off guard, they all turned their attention to Lord Death, except for Kid, who eyed his feet.

He remembered Greg leaving Alexis on their doorstep before he disappeared, this was now information he already knew.

"We needed him to do some experiments for us," Lord Death explained," and he took it a little too far, but I still take responsibility for his actions, though it is still why she calls me FATHER."

Maka's gaze shifted from Lord Death to the still-frame of Greg.

"Is he still alive?" she asked.

Lord death turned to the mirror.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he was still around," he offered," but he's been gone for a decade so there's no way to be sure."

They all seemed about ready to go.

"One more thing before you leave," Lord Death started, they all looked at him," the nightmare resonance is very strange, especially in her case."

All of them exchanged looks.

"How so, Lord Death?" Maka asked.

He looked at her directly.

"It is a weapon exclusive wavelength," he replied," and yet she appears to be a meister."

They once more exchanged nervous looks and began to leave.

"This may have unforeseen side effects," he called after them," so do be careful."

When the group was out of the Death Room they stopped.

"Could he be lying?" Liz asked.

"No," Kid denied," most if not all of that was true."

They all looked at him.

"Most?" Soul remarked.

"Yeah," Kid confirmed, he looked at his feet," I lived with Alexis for two years, during which she told me all about the experiments, she was like a little sister to me."

He leaned against a nearby wall.

"After the two years," he began, he looked at the ceiling," she started killing people, a lot of people, she had a lust for blood even at such a young age, she never used a weapon back then, soon after she just-"

He trailed off, he sighed.

"Disappeared," he muttered, suddenly his eyes sharpened, he looked everyone in the eyes," whatever you do, be careful when she is near you."

Everyone gave him a confused look.

"There's a reason that dad can't just keep her in the city," he somberly remarked," she eats dead bodies."

A memory of such an event flicked through his mind.

He had just come outside after hearing someone scream to see her small form crouched over one of the butlers.

At his call she turned her bloodied face towards him, the man's entrails were splattered on the ground, they looked like they belonged there.

She simply tilted her head before resuming her feast.

"WHAT!?" they all yelled.

He looked up at them, cut off from his thoughts.

"You heard me." He stated, he pushed off of the wall and began to walk down the hall.

Both Maka and Soul watched Liz scramble after him while dragging Patty along.

They exchanged worried looks.

"Classes start tomorrow right?" he asked shakily.

"Yeah." She confirmed in a frightened voice.

"What are the chances of them being canceled for the next few months?" he half joked, it only served to make the situation seem that much grimmer.

They both swallowed hard and moved towards the entrance of the academy.

**The following day.**

The day had finally come, the day that classes resume in the DWMA.

Maka looked up at the large skull on the front of the academy with a nervous look on her face.

She was in her usual academy student garb, her right arm wasn't in her long coat's sleeve as she was still required to wear her sling for the next day or so.

People filed into the school around her, all of them gave her a wide, but respectful birth with the exception of a group of delinquents.

One of them bumped into her as he walked past, pain shot through her right shoulder.

She held the hurt limb and glared at the laughing boy.

She stored his tanned face and straight brown hair into her memory in case it happened again.

He was wearing a black long sleeve shirt with black pants, his white shoes seemed out of place.

A hand on her left shoulder caused her to jump slightly.

"Oh," came Soul's voice, she turned to face him with a relieved sigh," sorry."

"It's fine," she assured him," I'm just a little on edge that's all."

Soul cocked his head.

"Where were you this morning," he asked," I got ready and checked your room and you were gone."

"I've been here," she answered frankly," trying to work up the nerve to go inside."

"And thinking about what Lord Death and Kid said?" he asked, she nodded.

"I just hope that nothing goes wrong." She breathed.

Soul just laughed, she looked at him confused.

"Ah, it'll be alright," he assured her," you just have to wait until that sling is off for good."

He smiled at her, she returned the smile.

Something moving behind her caught her eye, she noticed that it was Alexis.

She wore a heavy brown parka with heavy brown pants, her bandages had been dyed a soft grey and her mask was on her face, the hood covered her hair.

The most noticeable difference in her attire were the heavy gloves on her arms, Maka could only see the brown hands that had the large two finger covers and the thumb covers from under the sleeves of the parka, but she recognised these as full arm gloves.

She was looking right at Maka.

"Hey, I'm going on ahead," she vaguely heard from Soul," see you inside."

Before she could stop him he was gone.

She looked for him in the crowd, but it was already too late.

"Damn." She shakily muttered, she turned back to Alexis.

Alexis's mask was cocked to one side when she came into view, she seemed confused even under the mask.

Maka nervously rubbed her still throbbing shoulder, the mask seemed to turn to this action, Maka quickly stopped and looked away.

People continued to enter the academy for a few more minutes, they weaved around the two, after some time the large crowd was gone.

Maka heard some idle talk from behind her, she risked a look.

She saw that it was the group with the boy that bumped into her, with his face slightly relaxed she saw that he was one of the school's usual suspects for disruptive and idiotic behaviour.

For some reason she couldn't place a name to the face.

She visibly frowned and turned back to Alexis.

The mask seemed to study her face as she glared subconsciously back at it.

The two stayed staring at each other for a few more minutes.

The mask turned to beyond Maka for a few seconds before it faced her once more.

Finally, Alexis looked straight ahead and strode forward, Maka felt slightly surprised as she approached.

When Alexis was a few meters away she cracked her knuckles, this caused Maka to involuntarily closed her eyes.

"Did I do something to offend her?" she thought.

The sound of footsteps beside then behind her caused her to open her eyes.

Alexis was gone.

"Huh?" she huffed, she suddenly realised and turned to see Alexis approach the group of boys.

Some of them noticed the masked girl walking towards them, but none of them made room for her.

She nudged a few aside with an open hand, they gave her some cross looks.

Before she left the circle of kids, she knocked one with her shoulder.

He fell into one of his friends with enough force to knock them both to the ground.

Maka was taken aback by this behaviour as the rest of the boys moved to help their friends up, Alexis simply stood where she was.

She turned her head to give Maka one last sideways glance before continuing into the academy.

Maka watched until the girl had disappeared into the shadowed interior of the building.

She turned to the boys, the pained face of the boy who had bumped into her caught her off guard.

Her gaze returned to the front door of the academy.

"Was that," she began confused," for me?"

It took Maka two minutes to enter the school and get to class, even then she was a bit early.

She took her place beside Soul as some stragglers entered the class room behind her, among them was the boy from before.

He was rubbing his shoulder with a cross look on his face, he was visibly angry.

The boy sat down beside a concerned looking, blonde haired girl, she looked him over as they both talked.

Maka was soon distracted by BlackStar's rambling of how great he was.

She frowned slightly, but a small smile soon took over on her face.

"Well," she thought to herself," at least this hasn't changed."

When all of the students were seated, Stein lifted his head from the book he was reading.

The bell rang throughout the halls.

"Good," he said to no one in particular," now we can begin."

He pushed his rolling chair from behind his desk, the wheels squeaked here and there as he was rolled in front of the class.

He quickly took roll call and put the clipboard down.

"Before we begin," Stein said loudly to get everyone's attention, he got it with a varied amount of respect," we have a new student to introduce."

He turned his head to the door.

A few seconds passed before Alexis slowly strode in, Maka noticed that her fists were clenched and she had an uneasy stride.

This obviously wasn't her comfort zone as she stared at her feet and approached Stein.

"Class," he began," meet Fisher, she'll be joining our EAT class from this point forward."

It took some prompting to get her to even face the class, let alone make any indication that they even existed.

Maka overheard the boy from before speak to the blonde girl, but she couldn't hear what they were talking about.

Stein waved Alexis towards the class.

"Take any seat that's open." He ordered, he wheeled into a better teaching position.

Alexis quickly searched the class for an open seat, even through the mask Maka could tell that she was on the verge of cracking.

"Jeez." Maka breathed, this caught Soul's attention.

"What?" he asked.

"Did she really attack us," she asked him, he looked at her confused," she looks almost scared right now."

Soul simply looked at Maka, her face was all too familiar.

He turned to Alexis.

"Yeah." He agreed after a few seconds.

Alexis spotted an empty seat a few rows down from Soul and Maka, she strode straight for it, all eyes were on her as she leapt onto the nearest work space.

She walked over the tables and took her place between a few confused students.

She held herself very close to the chair as the eyes of the class moved back to Stein.

She pulled her hood forward to cover even more of her mask.

Maka leaned onto her workspace, she looked at Alexis the entire time the class was in session.

She could've sworn she saw Alexis rock slightly.

One thing she didn't expect was a wad of paper hitting the masked girl in the hood of her parka.

Maka heard snickering from behind her, she turned to see the boy and the blonde girl laughing silently, the boy had what appeared to be a straw in his hand, he was shooting spitballs at Alexis.

Maka huffed in annoyance and turned to Alexis, she was surprised once more to see her mask looking almost right at her, she was obviously glaring at the boy.

The laughing stopped a few seconds later, Maka watched as Alexis raised a single finger to her throat and slash at it subtly.

Maka could hear the boy retort in kind, she was surprised.

"She's already threatened someone," she glanced at the clock," and class isn't even over yet."

She sighed.

After classes had finished Maka was waiting for the group to show up.

She walked the halls around the class when she heard a crash behind her.

She turned to see the group of boys surrounding someone, they were drawing quite a crowd.

Through the growing mass of people, Maka caught a glimpse of Alexis's mask.

She cocked her head as the cheering began, she approached the group.

She was surprised to see the boy and Alexis staring each other down in the centre of the circle.

They apparently had been fighting.

Stein soon showed up to break up the fight, the crowd soon dispersed, with Maka in tow.

Before both Stein and the boy left, Alexis stopped them, Maka stopped and hid in a doorway close to them to listen to their conversation.

"- I don`t care if it`s allowed or not," Alexis hissed," we are fighting."

Maka almost flinched in surprise, she saw that both Stein and the boy were both as surprised as her.

"This jackass attacked me," she explained," and I'm a believer of an eye for an eye."

This simply earned her a laugh from the boy.

"Oh yeah," he challenged, he approached her once more," prove it."

The moment he was within arm's length a knife was at his throat, his words fumbled to a stop.

He glared into her mask.

"Bitch." He spat.

Stein stepped in and pushed them both away, her knife disappeared into her sleeve once more.

"Dominic, Fisher," he began as he separated them," that's enough."

"Dominic," Maka thought," so that's his name."

" If you both want to fight," Stein continued," I'm fit to watch in an hour."

Dominic eyed Stein.

"I'll win at the front of the academy in one hour then." He boasted.

Stein looked at him.

"Right," he remarked," until then, stay away from each other, ok?"

Dominic nodded and turned around.

"Hey, Lin." He said to the blonde girl who had stuck around, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked towards the entrance.

Maka huffed in annoyance at them.

Stein turned to Alexis.

"Don't do anything too rash." He said before he too moved away from her.

When he was gone Maka was about to leave when Alexis almost slammed herself into a wall.

She slid down the wall to sit on the floor, she fiddled with her mask.

It was at this point that Maka noticed that the mask had a crack on the left side of it.

Dominic had tried to get her mask off and had damaged it in the process.

Alexis turned the mask to face her, the eye slits stared at the girl.

Maka looked at the sad face of the girl for a few seconds.

"What is she doing?" she thought to herself.

She kept looking until a single tear fell onto the left eye slit of the mask.

She was utterly speechless at the sight, here was this madwoman according to the others, who was crying over a chip in her mask.

Maka barely had a thought go through her head before she went against her better judgement.

She stepped out of her hiding place.

"H-hey." She called.

Alexis shot up, a knife was already in her hand by the time her feet were flat.

Maka raised her hand defensively as Alexis stared at her.

It took Alexis a few seconds to wipe her tears and hurriedly replace her mask.

"What do you want?" she asked when the mask was in place.

Maka looked at her for a few more seconds, she lowered her arm.

"To talk." She offered.

Alexis cocked her head, she lowered her knife.

"It's you." She stated.

Maka nervously rubbed her shoulder.

This caused Alexis to look at it, the knife in her hand disappeared up her sleeve.

"D-does that hurt?" she stammered, she looked away from Maka, while Maka looked right at her.

"W-what?" she asked.

"I said," Alexis began, she turned to Maka once more," does that hurt?"

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Y-yeah a-a bit," She finally answered, she cocked her head to the side," why?"

Alexis crossed her arms nervously over her chest.

"I was told to be friendly." She replied in a nervous tone.

Maka was taken aback by the fact that Alexis was trying to be friendly.

"By who?" she asked.

"Father asked me to," Alexis answered," you're friends with Kid right?"

"Yeah," Maka replied, she looked at her feet, Alexis turned to go," I heard about you."

Alexis' turn stopped, Maka slowly lifted until she was looking at the chipped mask.

"They said some," she attempted nervously, the mask began to turn to face her, it was making thinking hard," hard to believe things."

The mask looked right at her.

"Like what?" Alexis asked, her voice seemed to channel death itself.

The case on her back moaned, she quickly told it to be quiet.

"They said that you." Maka tried, she trailed off, this earned her a crazed laugh from Alexis."

"Well at least they're both being honest." She stated, Maka's eyes widened.

"S-so it's true," she stammered," you eat people?"

Alexis stopped laughing.

"Are you scared of me?" she asked point blank, it caught Maka off guard.

"N-no." she replied in a shaky voice.

"Oh ho," Alexis challenged," lying are we?"

They stared at each other for a few more seconds.

"Did you attack us?" Maka asked in a barely audible tone.

"What?" Alexis shot back, she cupped a gloved hand over her ear.

Maka almost rolled her eyes.

"Did you attack Soul and I a few days ago?" Maka asked once more a little louder.

Alexis straightened, she noticed the bandage on Maka's neck.

She reached up and removed her mask once more, her green eyes stared into Maka's.

"No," she stated, she narrowed her eyes at Maka," I simply scared you two away, I never meant you any permanent damage."

"Permanent damage," Maka almost yelled, forgetting her fear," you almost killed me!"

Alexis simply pulled down the black cloth on her face, she looked back at an angry Maka.

She tucked her mask into her arm and began to slowly clap.

This caught Maka off guard once again.

"What are you-" she asked.

"Congratulations," Alexis cooed," you've just resisted my nightmare wavelength."

This utterly shocked Maka.

"W-what?" she stammered.

"It may have been a small dose," Alexis began, she stopped clapping," but you resisted it nonetheless."

"What are you talking about?" Maka demanded.

"I tested you," Alexis replied," your soul shows some protection against my wavelength."

"T-then what happened a few days ago?" Maka blurted.

"What happened is your soul got a dose of something it's never dealt with before," Alexis explained, her hands were on her hips," thus resulting in that blackout of yours."

Alexis cocked her head slightly, she raised her hand to her chin.

"A Grigory soul huh," she muttered," not bad girly."

Maka took a step back.

"With your black blood friend as your partner too," Alexis continued, she clasped her hands together," how cute."

Maka gritted her teeth at the mention of Soul.

"I like you, girly." Alexis stated with a smile.

Maka flinched at what she heard.

"You're a lot like me," Alexis said with a shrug, she strode towards Maka slowly," we've both killed, for our survival or not it still is killing, but you and I have both killed someone in particular, someone who isn't really talked about too much in your case."

As Alexis approached, Maka seized up.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked.

Alexis chuckled.

"Isn't it obvious," she giggled," you've killed someone who was very important and no I'm not talking about when you and your friends took down Asura."

The mention of the Kishin spooked Maka.

"You know about that?" she asked.

"Of course I do," Alexis assured her," doesn't everyone?"

"No, not really." Maka shot back.

"Well that's not important," Alexis stated she stopped beside Maka, they both looked in opposite directions," what is important is who you've killed."

She leaned towards Maka.

"Who did you kill?" she whispered into Maka's ear.

"I don't know." Came the response.

Alexis laughed loudly.

"And here I thought you were all smart," she stated, Maka turned to her," c'mon girly, it's soooo obvious."

Maka simply stared at Alexis.

"What the hell is going on with her?" she thought to herself.

She looked at the smiling girl for a few more seconds.

"Who did I kill that was so important?" she asked finally.

Alexis' smile disappeared she turned her body to face Maka, her green eyes blinked in surprise.

She pointed at Maka's forehead.

"Yourself." She answered.

Maka took a few surprised steps away from Alexis.

"W-what!?" she almost shouted.

"You killed yourself," Alexis repeated, she drew her hand back," the old you is dead, girly and this new you is walking free."

Maka stared at Alexis for a few seconds.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Oh I know about your past," Alexis assured her," about the sweet little girl who loved her father and didn't fight for anything really, that is the old you."

Maka looked at the scarred face of Alexis.

"She is now dead, replaced with you," she continued, she began to walk around Maka," this girl who will jump at the chance to fight for the sake of others and seems to hate the very person who brought you into this world."

Alexis completed her orbit of Maka, they looked at each other for a few seconds.

"She does have a point." She thought.

Alexis raised her left hand to Maka, this shocked her most of all, she worked up the courage to grasp the hand.

"My name is Alexis." Alexis offered with a smirk.

It took Maka a few seconds to clue in.

"Maka." She replied as they finally shook.

They brought their hands away and looked at each other for a few seconds.

Alexis' words from the other day echoed through Maka's mind.

"Does this make us," she began, she looked to the side," friends?"

Alexis smiled widely.

"Why not?" she asked.

They both smiled at each other, Maka's slightly forced and Alexis' wide and menacing.

"Hey," Alexis began," I've got a fight in a little while."

"I know," Maka stated," I overheard your conversation."

Alexis pointed at Maka teasingly.

"Don't make a habit of that Girly." She warned with a smirk.

"I won't." Maka assured her.

"Anyway, wanna watch?" Alexis offered.

Maka looked to the side.

"Are you going to kill him?" she asked with genuine concern.

Alexis was slightly surprised by this.

"No, why would you say that?" she inquired.

"Well he cracked your-" Maka began, she pointed at the mask.

Alexis laughed.

"Oh that," she giggled," I believe in an eye for an eye remember, he cut my face, so I'm gonna cut his."

Maka looked at her.

"Why were you crying over that mask?" she asked with interest.

Alexis gripped the mask.

"My creator gave it to me," she replied," now let's leave it at that, let's go!"

She began to walk down the hall, Maka trotted to keep up with her.

"So," she began when they were side by side," no killing?"

Alexis turned to her, she pulled up the cloth and placed the mask onto her face.

"I'll barely leave a long lasting scratch." She promised.

**The front courtyard at the time of the fight. **

Dominic and Lin were standing outside the entrance, he was looking around angrily.

"Where the hell are they?" he huffed.

"Maybe she's not coming." Lin offered in a disappointed tone.

He stomped the ground angrily.

"And after all that talk too." He sneered.

Stein wheeled out of the entrance, both of them turned to face him.

"Hello Dom, Lin," he greeted," where's Fisher?"

Lin shrugged while Dominic crossed his arms over his chest.

"Who knows where she is?" Lin replied.

Her long, black coat swayed in the slight breeze and curled around her shorts and long legs.

Stein rested his head on the chair.

"Who indeed?" he muttered.

The sound of footsteps behind him caught his attention, he turned.

He almost fell out of his chair when he saw Maka walking next to Alexis.

"Hey you two," he stammered as Alexis strode past him, Maka stood next to him," running a little late huh?"

"Sorry," Maka apologised," we decided to walk around to kill time."

Stein waited for Alexis to be out of ear shot before he leaned towards Maka.

"How is she in your opinion?" he asked.

Maka turned to him.

"She's like Chrona," she admited," but just more violent and less awkward than him, she doesn't like crowds though, but if you try to accept her she does the same for you."

Stein nodded thoughtfully.

"I see," He muttered," are you treating her like this because of what happened with Chrona?"

Maka was surprised by the question, frankly she didn't have an answer for it either.

"I-I don't know." She finally answered.

Stein simply looked at the three in front of him.

"Well," he began, he shifted to a more comfortable position," let's get started."

"Alright!" Dom shouted he turned to Lin, she began to turn into a weapon.

"Let's get this over with." She said as she formed a long sword, the blade shimmered gold in the sunlight."

Maka looked at Dom and his weapon partner as they took their stance.

"A white longsword and its meister," she muttered," huh."

"He's a very good meister at that," Stein explained," he was able to fend off quite a few of Arachnophobia soldiers with just himself and Lin and still they came out of the fight without a single scratch."

Maka looked the boy over.

"If that's true then Alexis has a real fight on her hands." She stated.

Stein turned to her.

"Who exactly are you worried about?" he asked with a slight smile.

Maka looked at his grin for a few seconds before turning back to the fighters.

She watched Alexis unloop one of the straps on the case on her back, she noticed that blood was no longer dripping from it.

Alexis held the case at arm's length, she dropped it, this surprised Maka.

The moment the black metal touched the ground, it opened, the weapon that Alexis called Ko shot out of the case and into Alexis' waiting fingers, the weapon wasn't covered in blood this time.

She held him out in front of her, she gripped the zipper on her parka and pulled it down.

She slipped out of the heavy clothing and placed it on the case, her grey cut-off and grey bandages were now the only thing that covered her torso.

Maka noted that Alexis' large gloves came to her biceps with thick cuffs at the top.

"Could one of you watch these for me," she asked, Maka strode forward and grabbed the two," thank you."

She stared into Dom's eyes from behind her mask, her long reddish hair swayed in the breeze.

Stein's gaze shifted from one to the other.

"You can-" he started.

Before the sentence was even finished, Dom shot forward, he swung for Alexis' neck.

Maka was shocked by how fast he was, he had covered the distance between him and his foe in a few long strides.

Though the attack seemed terminal, Alexis simply raised Ko in front of her neck, the two blades clashed and Lin was roughly pushed back.

Alexis stepped forward and slammed her open palm into Dom's ribcage, an act that caught him off guard, he was thrown back a few meters before landing on his back, he scrambled to his feet.

"Whoa." Maka stammered."

"What the hell!?" Dom shouted, he ran for Alexis once more.

This time he swiped at her feet, an attack that she simply raised her feet out of the way, she didn't even move from her spot.

This kept up for a few seconds before he slashed at her side, she definitely wouldn't be able to block it with Ko.

Maka stepped forward, Stein stopped her with a hand.

Alexis simply rose her left gloved hand and gripped the blade, Dom looked at her surprised.

"Lin!" he called.

"Right." She answered, the pale blade began to heat up, it turned red and the air around it waved and pitched.

"A sword that heats up?" Maka asked.

Stein nodded.

"Yeah," he replied, he lowered his head to the back of the chair," if Lin gets hot enough she can slice through almost anything."

Dom smiled wickedly as the blade got hotter and hotter.

"What is she doing," Maka thought," he's wide open!"

Alexis turned to Stein.

"You never said start." She stated, Dom looked at her confused as her glove began to smoke.

Stein smirked, he raised his head slightly.

"Start." He huffed amused.

Alexis leaned forward and smashed the top of Ko into Lin's hilt, the force of the strike knocked Lin from Dom's grasp, she was roughly thrown to the side as Alexis approached him.

She raised her foot and kicked him in the gut, this threw him back a few feet, but he quickly recovered, he rolled towards Lin and gripped her handle.

He rose to his feet, his face just listed it as a lucky shot.

Alexis looked at him for a few seconds, her left glove was smoldering, she tucked Ko into her arm and began to peel her gloves off.

"What is she doing?" Maka asked.

When the gloves were peeled past her elbow, a grey and black scaled and rippled gauntlet was seen.

It was covered in scrapes and slight dents and had some evidence of repair, but there was no indecation that Dom's attack so much as dusted off the metal.

Maka watched as Alexis peeled off her second glove and saw that the right arm was the same, though with a slightly different level of wear-and-tear.

"So that's how you stopped my attack," Dom stated, he straightened as Alexis tossed the gloves towards Maka," just some hidden armor."

"This armor has been through worse than you." She shot back, he laughed.

"Whatever, like a few extra layers of metal is going to stop me," he sneered, he took his stance once more," let's do this."

Alexis cocked her head to one side, she flipped Ko around her fingers, his handle changed, it shortened and the blade turned to the side, Maka watched as the blade took its place in the centre of the side of the handle, the weapon truly had the appearance of a bladed meat hook now as the blade thinned and curved, it rested between Alexis' fingers.

"Her partner changes shape too," Maka breathed," how many surprises has she got?"

Stein nodded in agreement, this was his first time witnessing this as well.

"They say a fight isn't a fight until you know your opponent," Alexis began, she got into a stance similar to boxing, with Ko being on the hand that was forward," so I guess that this is just a normal conversation."

Her stance was one brought on by practice, her feet evenly spread, her weapon was there to take a hit for her left to counter, she displayed pure skill and control over her emotions.

Ko moaned, she laughed.

"Yeah a bit cliché I know," she replied, Dom looked at her confused," but it's still true."

Dom shook his head.

"Let's go." He spat, he shot forward once more.

Alexis followed his moves, she blocked one slash to her abdomen and a swipe at her neck, he was aiming for her vital points and nothing else.

She sighed at his cockiness.

She hooked the sword and pulled the two towards her, she punched him in the jaw, a blow that knocked him off his feet and separated him from Lin once more.

She held the sword for a few seconds.

"Shocking Daze." She almost spat, sparks shot from the weapon in her hand, she roughly threw the sword towards Dom, by the time she came to a stop, Lin was in her human form.

"W-what the-," he stammered, he rushed to Lin," how?"

Maka eyed Dom as he tried to revive Lin, she had some blood drip from the corner of her mouth and scalp.

"What just happened?" she asked.

"Shocking Daze, now that is a pretty hard technique to do," Stein commented," especially without the use of a weapon."

"But she does have a weapon." Maka pointed out.

"Right," Stein agreed," but if you've been paying attention, you'll notice that she's not using Ko for offence at all, she's using him as a shield almost."

"Yeah but," Maka began, she looked back at Dom who was now helping Lin to her shaking feet," what was that?"

Stein glanced at Maka.

"Shocking Daze," he repeated," it's a technique that disrupts a person's soul resonance and wavelength, it's like what I did when fighting BlackStar to avoid damage, but instead of canceling an attack, it is an attack, it mimics a person's wavelength and invades the person's soul, then it changes back and cancels out the flow of their resonance for a shor time through force, it can do as little as a slight shock or it can render people unconscious, make weapons revert to their human forms as you've just seen and if powerful enough."

He trailed off, he once more eyed Maka.

"It can cancel out a person's soul completely," he explained, he turned back to the fight," resulting in death."

Maka watched as Lin returned to her weapon form.

"It's like a more powerful and more controlled version of mine and BlackStar's Soul Force attacks," he continued as Alexis blocked another swipe from Dom," and just doing one of those can leave some people drained, to perform a Shocking Daze as powerful as what she just did and still move like nothing happened is very unusual for most people, but it seems that Ms. Alexis may have better control over her soul than most around here, that and her soul must be very potent."

Maka eyed Alexis.

"I guess." She muttered.

Dom swung Lin at Alexis once more, she caught the sword with one hand, this time he had the sense to get Lin away from her quickly.

Alexis watched in amusement as Dom scrambled away from her, she could see that he knew that this fight was going south for him.

She smirked behind her mask, she tossed Ko towards Maka and Stein, he landed on top of the case that Maka had put on the ground.

"There Ko," Alexis began, she took a boxer's stance," now you'll have a better view of the fight."

Maka stared at Alexis shocked.

"She's fighting him alone?" she blurted.

Stein simply looked at Ko.

"Strange," he muttered, he looked at Alexis," his soul is smaller than when he was over there."

Something caught his eye.

"OH," he chuckled," so that's her game."

Maka looked at him confused.

"Take a look for yourself." He offered, he pushed his glasses up even though he didn't need to.

Maka understood what he meant and gazed at the combatants' souls.

"What th-" she blurted, she looked from Alexis to Ko," they're the same."

Stein eyed Alexis with interest.

A knife blocked Dom's slash and disappeared, in that instant Stein understood.

"That soul isn't just one weapon," he stated," it's an arsenal of knives along with the giant meat hook."

Maka eyed Stein.

"How is that possible?" she asked.

"That is a good question," Stein stated," but it would explain where her knives keep going and why Ko doesn't walk around with everyone else, if he did then Alexis wouldn't have anything at her disposal aside from herself."

Maka nodded, accepting his logic, she turned back to the fight.

Dom swung at Alexis, she back stepped and ducked under the blade, she punched his jaw once more and kicked Lin from his grasp, the punch spun him around.

She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close, she put a knife to his throat to keep him from moving.

They held that position for a few seconds, Maka watched nervously.

Alexis turned to Maka, she brought the knife up to Dominic`s eye, he looked at the slightly curved blade tiredly.

After a moment, she slashed the knife away from his face, he yelped in pain, Maka looked away.

She heard Dom fall to the ground, after a few seconds she heard him groan and move.

She opened her eyes to see Lin at his side helping him up.

His face turned to glare at Alexis, he had a scratch on his cheek in the exact same place as the crack on Alexis` mask and about two inches long.

His jaw was heavily bruised and was beginning to swell up.

"Well," Stein beamed, a slight grin flicked onto his face," I think that it's safe to say that Alexis won."

Lin helped Dominic to his feet.

"Dominic, Linda," Stein began, they both turned to face him," go to the infirmary, get yourselves checked out."

"Whatever." Dom spat.

"Yeah sure," Lin agreed, she lead Dom away from Alexis," c'mon."

After a few seconds, Alexis walked up to Maka.

"I've gotta go," Stein stated, he pushed himself back towards the entrance," enjoy the rest of your day girls."

Both Maka and Alexis watched him go, when he was out of sight Alexis moved to her things.

"That was pretty impressive." Maka praised, as Alexis slipped back into her parka.

"Really," she asked as she zipped up the heavy clothing," how so."

"Stein said that a lot of your moves are fairly advanced techniques." Maka replied.

Alexis closed Ko inside his case and slung it over her shoulder.

Maka handed her her gloves, she sighed.

"Damn it, I forgot to put those back on," she muttered, she grasped the thick gloves," whatever, I'll just do it later."

Maka motioned to her gauntlets.

"Those are some good pieces of armor," she commented," are you always wearing them?"

"Um," Alexis stuttered," y-yeah, most of the – time anyway."

This appeared to satisfy Maka.

"Hey, let's go our homes," she offered," I'm sure you have things to do and besides, Soul's probably getting worried."

"Y-yeah sure," Alexis agreed," I've totally – have things, to – do."

Maka looked at Alexis confused.

"Right, well let's go." She said.

She began walking home, Alexis filed in beside her.

**Two hours later.**

Maka walked into her apartment, she moved past the couch to see Soul sitting at the kitchen table, he was looking right at her.

"Hey." He muttered.

"Hey." She echoed, she placed her things on the couch.

She glanced at the clock, it was well past seven.

"Your food's in the microwave." He stated, she recalled that it was his turn to cook today.

"Oh, thanks." She replied as she moved into the kitchen.

"Where were you?" he asked.

She stopped walking and looked at her feet.

"I-I was watching Alexis fight." She answered frankly.

He bolted up from his chair.

"Wait what!?" he almost shouted.

"Shh, calm down," she instructed," it's not like she was fighting me or anything."

"I've been waiting for you to get back," he stated, he wasn't angry, he was just concerned," and the whole time you've been with the very person who almost killed you, the very person that you were petrified of for almost the past four days."

He looked at her for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, but that makes no sense to me." He stated, he sat back down.

She began to speak, but held her tongue.

"Damn it," she thought to herself," why does he have to be right about that?"

She looked him in the eye.

"She's not so bad once you get to know her." She stated, she sat down across from him.

He leaned forward.

"Do you know her though?" he asked.

She contemplated this for a few moments.

"Not really I guess," she admitted," but we seem to have come to some sort of understanding."

"What kind of understanding?" he asked.

She simply shrugged.

"I have no idea," she stated," but she seemed to be friendly, but that may only be because Lord Death asked her to."

Soul eyed her face.

"He what?" he asked.

"She said that Lord Death had asked her to try to play nice with others," Maka explained," I think she decided to start with me."

He looked at her confused.

"Well, what now?" he asked.

"Tomorrow I'll see if this keeps up," she replied, she rose from her seat and moved to the micro wave," and I'll talk to Kid."

**Author's note: ****hey guys, it's Gorse the Almighty.**

**Just thought I'd say thanks for reading this chapter along with all the others up to this point.**

**On a side note I'd like you to know that from this point on updates may start getting pretty scarce as I'm starting to settle into my new house.**

**I just won't have as much time to work on these, but rest assured, I will still try my best to bring new chapters out as quickly as possible.**

**I appreciate your support and your patience in this matter.**

**Ok, now that all the formal stuff is done, down to business.**

**The first combat in the story, good, bad, horrible, let me know.**

**I'm sorry that it was fairly short and not very in depth, I'll work on that in the future.**

**I'm still planning out that Maka vs Alexis fight so, look forward to that.**

**Speaking of Alexis, I have a mission planned for her, so yes, she leaves Death City to do missions, it would be pretty hard to not let her out once in a while if you ask me.**

**Anyway that covers pretty much everything without telling you guys shit-all except for " she leaves the city at some point" and " the one who killed the kishin and her fight at some point" so I think I'm good on the spoilers.**

**I mean seriously, I did something like that once and got yelled at for spoilers.**

**I was literally like, " bitch please, if you've watched a single anime in your life, you would be able to see this vague shit on the horizon" which is true.**

**So please don't reprimand me for mild spoilers as I'm pretty much showing them to you for your opinion.**

**Oh, if you guys could just tell me how you think I'm doing so far that'd be great, I think I covered everything, but Alexis' shell is still just cracking.**

**Anyway, see you next chapter, BYYEEE.**

**-GorseT**


	5. Chapter 5

Y'know,

There's a very big difference between so called "normal people"

And those known as pacifists.

Do you know what that difference is?

For a normal person it's "kill or be killed"

For a pacifist it's "let others kill and be killed"

That's why I don't like pacifists,

It's no fun if someone just lets you kill them,

And fun's all I have to look forward to now,

Which group do I belong in?

Ha, being killed isn't on my to-do list,

I'm neither.

- Drake McClissey

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

**Six days after the Dominic fight.**

Maka sat on the opposite side of a hall in the hospital to a door, she was clenching her fists in anger.

She was angry due to both confusion and guilt.

Someone strode into her field of view, she only saw their shoes.

"Hey." Soul managed, she looked up to his face, he held a small bouquet of white roses.

She looked back down.

"Hey." She replied.

Soul looked down at her for a few seconds, he turned to the door.

"Is this her room?" he asked.

"Yeah." Maka answered.

Soul looked back at Maka for a second.

He took a step towards the door, she grabbed his hand, he stopped and looked back at her.

She still was looking at the ground.

He turned and crouched in front of her.

"It wasn't your fault you know," he stated, she looked up at him.

Her eyes widened.

"I don't see why you're so scared of going in," he said as he straightened, he turned back to the door," I'm sure she'll be fine."

He pushed the door open and walked inside, just before the door closed, Maka stole a glance of the unconscious Alexis in the hospital bed.

**One day after the Domonic fight.**

"You're sure of this?" Kid asked, Maka nodded, he sighed heavily, he rested his hands on a nearby wall.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Don't trust her," he warned, she was surprised by this," she won't help you with anything, she'll only say that she will."

"How do you know?" Maka asked, he turned to her, his eyes were strangely tired.

"Because I know," he almost sighed," trust me."

Maka gave him a look.

"C'mon, Kid you'll have to give me more than that." She stated.

"She used me," he replied he turned back to the wall, he rested his forehead on the wall, Maka looked at him," she used me to disappear, she'll use you too."

Maka's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean she used you to disappear?" she asked.

"When her and I were just kids she was dropped off at my house," he explained," she used me to get close to my father and to earn his trust, it worked so well that she was able to kill the people around us."

Maka looked at Kid, he never spoke like this, he began to slowly shake his head, the stone gritted against his forehead.

"After she had killed enough people to maybe arouse suspicion she stopped and asked if I wanted to play a game," he continued," Hide and Seek seemed so innocent at the time, even though I was aware of her actions I didn't warn dad, she had asked me not to, not once did I consider that she would never be found that day."

Maka stared at Kid.

"She just," she stammered," left?"

He nodded.

"Yeah," he confirmed, he looked at her," she JUST left, she left me and dad with a bunch of mutilated corpses and not so much as an apology."

He pushed away from the wall.

"Or a goodbye," he muttered, he gazed at Maka," don't trust her, she'll just leave you too and she'll kill everyone you care about."

He gripped Maka's shoulder.

"You must promise me you won't do anything that has ANYTHING to do with her," he demanded," please, if you want to keep everyone alive, including yourself."

He let her go and walked past her, she turned to watch him go.

"O-ok." She managed when he was no longer there.

Soul walked up to her from the side.

"Hey," he said," what's going on?"

She turned to him.

"Don't you want to know?" she asked.

He arched a brow.

"Know what?" he asked.

"Y'know," she stated," Alexis."

He shook his head.

"Not really," he replied, he began to walk past her," I prefer to not gather too much info on the subject, it just doesn't seem healthy to give it as much thought as you are already."

Maka looked at her feet for a few seconds.

"Y-yeah," she stammered, she began to follow him," you're probably right."

**Three days after the Dominic fight.**

Alexis tossed and turned, her blankets were strewn on the floor.

She wasn't even in them anymore.

She snapped awake and surveyed her room.

All was quiet.

She sighed and shrugged off the bad dream.

She had seen it many times before.

The screams still echoed in her mind, the bloodstained bulkheads and bars were rusted from the very thing that painted them red.

She shivered as the woman's screams flew through her ears, she clamped her hands over them, but the noise persisted.

She saw the woman strapped to a torture device, her skin was being carved by the large man in front of her.

Suddenly she wasn't in her house anymore, the wooden floorboards bubbled and sputtered until the bleak metal took its place.

She looked around, the cell was all too familiar.

Her gaze soon set itself on the woman, the chair she was strapped into still dripped with her own blood.

Against her will, Alexis rose from her sitting position, she slowly strode across the stained red metal.

The floor thudded with every step causing it to echo ominously as she approached the woman.

Her blonde hair obstructed her face, though Alexis already knew who she was.

When she was close enough, she caught herself looking at the chair, on the armrests it had large spikes puncturing the woman's palms and sticking out of the backs of her hands.

The little fabric the woman was wearing failed to keep her recent gashes from oozing blood, her blood pressure was very low as even larger blood vessels refused to do more than drip lazily.

The cuts and numerous slashes all seemed to point to the woman's covered face, Alexis slowly raised her hand and nudged the woman's head.

It lazily swayed, her hair fell from her face revealing once more that it was Alexis sitting in the chair.

All Alexis could do was stare at the doppelganger in the torture device until her eyes shot open.

Alexis herself woke up once more, for good this time, she warily scanned her room.

She realised that she was in a sitting position, she eyed the wooden chair that she was seated in, it bore a striking resemblance to the torture device, a fact that caused her to jolt upwards, knocking it over.

It took her a few seconds to calm her hammering heart, but a heavy sigh soon got her under control.

She eyed her bare palms, the circular scars were still there as were the ones on the backs of her hands.

She sighed once more.

"Just stupid." She muttered, she looked at the clock in her room, the green numbers snapped to 1:46 am.

She shook her head, she noticed that she was covered in sweat from the dream.

"Well," she began, she moved to a bath robe she had set aside," guess I should get washed up."

Thirty painful minutes later she was showered, dried and very ahead of schedule.

Something she had gotten used to doing the past two days as she had been sneaking out of the city in the early morning to see how well her watchers were doing their job.

They weren't doing it very well apperantly, which was evident due to the fact that she hadn't been seen either night when she returned.

"Damn it," she huffed, she strained her dripping hair, she grabbed her mask and headed for Ko, who was set on a table," now I really have nothing to do."

Ko moaned, she sighed in agreement.

"Yeah," she muttered," I wish this place was more exciting too."

She dropped the robe and grabbed her loops of grey bandages and began to roll them over her pale skin, a process that she had gotten very good at, she soon was covered from the neck down.

She grabbed a black cut off shirt and matching shorts and slipped them on, her heavy brown pants followed along with her parka.

She glanced at the clock once more, it snapped to 2:59 am, she sighed explosively.

"Agh," she pouted," and I was taking my time too!"

She packed Ko in his case and looped it around her shoulder.

"Screw this." She huffed, she grabbed her mask and went to the front door.

Her mask was slipped over her face before she opened the door, her annoyed look was evident even without a single scrap of skin being visible.

She strode out of her house.

"Man why can't I ever seem to get earlier timeframes," she questioned," I mean, all this waiting is-"

She stopped, Ko moaned.

"Yeah I sense it too," she assured her weapon, she gazed at any nearby souls, most were tired and not very noteworthy, but one stood out and was on the move," what's Maka doing outside this early?"

She noticed that the soul next to the grigory soul had a black stain on it.

"And Soul too," she added, she moved down the street," I haven't seen him up before six before."

She peeked around the corner and sure enough, there was Soul and Maka moving down the roads, they were headed in the direction of the academy.

She noticed that Maka wasn't wearing her sling.

"Well," she began, she stepped out from her hiding place and began to follow them," I've got nothing else to do."

"All I'm saying is that she didn't show up for classes the past few days," Soul repeated for what felt like the millionth time, he yawned," it's pretty strange for anyone to just disappear for days and it's even more suspicious because it's her."

Maka glared at him.

"I don't see how Alexis not being in class has you so upset." she stated.

"Well she literally just started like, three days ago and she's been absent for two of them," he explained," what part of that doesn't have you suspicious of her, she's nuts!"

This earned him a smack to the head.

"Hey!" he yelped.

"Just be thankful I don't have a book." Maka huffed as she kept walking.

He eyed her confused.

"Hey," he started, he jogged to catch up to her," you saw her fight right?"

"Yeah," she replied, she eyed him," what about it?"

"What's her fighting style," he asked with genuine interest," does she fight weird or anything?"

Maka was taken off guard by this question.

She looked forward.

"She fights," she began," she fights in a selfish way."

He looked at her confused.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, she uses that meat hook as a shield only," she replied, the fight between Alexis and Dominic still lingered in her mind," she never used 'Ko' for offence even once, she just used him as a stepping stone really."

He scratched the back of his head.

"Really?" he asked, she nodded.

"The strangest thing by far though," she continued, he once more eyed her," she was wearing these gauntlets, they were strong enough to withstand attacks from a fairly advanced weapon with a very skilled meister, not to mention she threw her own weapon away and beat him."

She trailed off.

"Wait," Soul stammered," she threw her weapon away and THEN attacked and beat him?"

Once more Maka nodded.

"Why didn't you say something about that before?" he asked.

"Well you told me not to talk about it like four days ago," Maka assured him," so I didn't."

He shook his head.

"Whatever," he muttered, they walked in silence for a few minutes," hey."

Maka gazed at him as he looked into the sky.

"Why did we have to get up so early anyway?" he asked.

She sighed.

"Stein wanted to talk to us before classes started, remember?" she shot back.

"Uh," he stammered," no not – really."

She shook her head.

"Man, you need to pay more attention." She scolded him.

He chuckled.

"Yeah, maybe I do." He agreed.

They walked in silence for the remainder of the walk.

Upon arriving at the academy, they quickly spotted Stein standing in the centre of the courtyard and approached him.

"Maka, Soul," he greeted them," I need to tell you something."

"Well why else would we be here?" Soul asked, he stretched his arms behind his head.

Maka shot him a look.

"What is it?" she inquired, turning back to Stein.

"You have a mission in Europe." He stated.

"Really," Maka blurted," Europe?"

"Yes," Stein confirmed," some kishin eggs have taken over a cathedral, we want you to clear it out."

"Why us," Soul muttered," I mean, there are plenty of others and we're still healing."

Stein turned to Soul.

"Because there is a very strong soul there as well," he explained," and we have faith in your abilities."

Soul sighed explosively.

"When do we leave?" Maka asked.

"Right now actually," he replied, he turned the screw in his head, it clicked in the dull air," you should get what you need."

They both nodded and turned to go.

"Wait," Stein started, they turned back to him," there's one more thing."

"Yeah, what is it?" Soul inquired with a hint of impatience.

"You will be accompanied by Alexis." He answered.

They both stared at him dumbfounded.

"W-what?" Maka managed.

"Lord Death has requested that we measure her abilities in actual combat," Stein explained," so he is sending her on a rather difficult mission."

"We aren't going to collect kishin eggs are we?" Soul muttered, he kicked a stray stone.

Stein looked at him.

"Not primarily," he stated," now get going and be careful, if even half of what we've heard of her is true, she's viable to kill you both and run off."

They both stared at him once more.

"That's – not really helping Stein." Soul almost spat.

Stein chuckled slightly.

"Well it's just a warning." He laughed.

Once more they turned and began walking.

When they were out of sight, Stein turned to enter the academy.

Halfway through the turn, his gaze fell upon Alexis, he stopped and stared at her.

She looked back at him.

"I'm viable to do what?" she challenged, her mask cocked to the side and she took a step forward.

Stein held his ground, sweat dripped down his neck.

"To kill them and run." He harshly repeated.

She strode towards him slowly, when she was less than arm's length away from him she stopped.

Her hand rose, his eyes followed it.

He was surprised when it fell onto the screw in his head.

"I'm not evil," She stated, her voice was strangely sweet," but I do have quite a temper."

Her hand moved in front of his face.

"And if you insult me once more," she began, her finger slid across the side of the dial, it clicked a few times," we can have an experiment involving removing this accessory."

He stared into the slits of her mask.

"Keep that in mind." She warned as she stepped past him.

He kept staring straight ahead.

"Of course." He replied in a sarcastic tone, he turned to face her with a challenging smirk.

She stopped walking, she reached up to her mask and slowly pulled it away.

Much to Stein's surprise she turned her scarred face towards him.

"Ironic that your madness is what keeps me from affecting you very much," she muttered," wouldn't you agree?"

He stared at her stunned.

"We crazies need to stick together," she stated, she turned from him and replaced her mask," may your madness keep you sane."

She began to walk away from him, leaving him to watch her go.

Unknown to Stein as he walked to his lab, three figures shifted on the large skull of the academy.

The three figures all wore white masks not unlike Alexis', they all were wearing heavy brown parkas and heavy brown pants with black gloves on their hands, any place that skin would have been visible was wrapped in grey bandages.

Each had a slightly different decal for their mask, the one on the right had what appeared to be pale blue ripples from the centre.

The one on the left had the right half of the mask coloured black with the left a plain white with some black spattered in the bottom left of the chin.

The last one in the middle had the mask covered in red cracks that spliced across the entire mask.

"They've taken the bait." The left one stated.

"Fisher sure startled this 'Stein' person." The rippled mask muttered in a very nervous tone.

"Yes, our little Fear meister still has her charm," the cracked mask agreed," Shroud, Echo, we're going to Europe."

"Oh cool," the rippled mask almost shouted, he locked his fingers together when the cracked mask turned to him," I-I mean – I-I've n-never been to Europe - before."

"You need to work on your discretion," the cracked mask scolded," the name Echo has never suited you more."

Echo eyed his feet.

"Ah, lay off him Tremor," Shroud attempted," you know he's never even left base before, it's lucky any of us are going in our situation."

Tremor nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, I guess you're right," he turned to Echo," sorry Echo."

"I-it's ok." He managed.

"Alexis going with them ruined us approaching her today," Tremor stated," Kahl will just have to do his part after all."

Both Shroud and Echo turned to him.

"Shroud, you'll be going with Echo," he stated," I shall stay behind to further our plans here."

Echo's surprise could be seen through his mask.

"You're not coming?" he almost whined.

"No he's not," Shroud confirmed," we will need to be as precise as possible for his sake."

Echo nodded.

"Of course, we won't leave any stones unkicked." He stated triumphantly before he leapt from the skull, he soon disappeared into the many shadows.

Shroud and Tremor watched him go.

"He still doesn't know the saying yet," Shroud sighed," maybe we should get out more."

"Never you mind that," Tremor ordered," you two just get our information, I'll get her attention when she returns."

Shroud nodded.

"Are our ports in place?" he asked, Tremor held out three passports.

"Indeed they are," he stated," soon we shall be students and the next phase of the plan can begin."

They both nodded, Shroud moved to go, but was stopped by Tremor's grasp.

"Please make Echo understand," he ordered," we can't wear these clothes here."

Shroud nodded and moved to follow Echo, leaving Tremor to gaze up at the dying moon.

"Soon it will all be over." He huffed from behind his mask.

**Four days after the Dominic fight.**

"Damn it," Soul shouted, he practically fell into the bench," where the hell are these guys?"

Maka leaned up against a nearby wall, she had to agree.

"Who knows, we've been searching for the past day." She muttered.

"I thought they were supposed to be in the cathedral." He spat.

Again, she agreed with him.

They had begun their search the moment they arrived in Paris, the only problem was that there wasn't a single kishin egg in Paris at all, both very strange and rare, but also a big problem in finding their targets.

Soul turned to Alexis, she had been quiet the entire time, she was looking away from the crowds of people that were approaching down the road, she was wearing her large, three fingered gloves.

"What do you think Alexis," he asked, she didn't even glance at him," hey, I'm talking t-"

Maka placed a hand on his shoulder, she shot him a look.

"Alexis," she called softly, her mask slowly turned to Maka," what do you think is going on?"

Alexis's mask cocked.

"She listens to you." Soul muttered under his breath.

"They were expecting us." She simply stated.

Both Soul and Maka turned towards her.

"We simply need to stick around until they show up." She continued.

"But that could take forever," Soul pointed out," that'd be so uncool."

Alexis gazed at him her mask once more cocked to one side.

"Uncool?" she repeated confused.

He looked at her.

"Yeah, uncool," he echoed," which is what this is going to be."

Alexis' mask tilted even more.

"Soul, I don't think she knows what cool is," Maka stated as Alexis' mask scanned the area," at all."

He looked at Maka then returned his gaze to Alexis.

"Now that is pretty uncool." He muttered, he shook his head.

The three of them looked around in silence.

Soul suddenly rose from his seat and began walking towards the crowds.

"C'mon," he called," let's get some food."

A few minutes later they were seated inside a restaurant, their booth was full of a lot of empty space.

Alexis had requested that they get the most private place to eat, she sat as far from the other people as possible while still hiding in the curve of the booth, her back was to a wall while both Soul and Maka sat more or less across from her.

When the waiter came around Alexis muttered something about browsing their wines, which was denied unless she showed her face, which she refused.

Both Soul and Maka glanced at each other.

They didn't order much, just some simple food with most of the meal consisting of bread and some steak.

Soul ate quietly until he noticed that Alexis hadn't even removed her mask.

"It's kinda hard to eat with a mask on y'know." He muttered.

She simply turned to him.

Maka caught the eerie aura around Alexis.

"You really should eat." She stated.

Alexis glanced at her and sighed.

She pulled her hood as far forward as it would allow, effectively coating her mask in shadow.

She removed her mask and somehow slipped it into the case on her back.

She eyed her steak, she suddenly had a thin vial in her hands, she undid the cork and dumped the red contents onto the steak.

Soul nodded towards the vial.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Blood." She replied, he chuckled slightly.

His gaze shifted from Alexis to Maka and back to Alexis, his smile faded.

"W-wait you're serious," he asked, her hood dipped slightly, he swallowed hard," ok then."

The meal continued in an awkward silence for a few minutes.

Maka noticed that despite her scary exterior, Alexis had remarkable table manners equal to any noble.

A trait that didn't seem to fit the alleged psychopath.

"Then again," she thought," she did dump blood onto her food."

About halfway through her food Alexis stopped, it took them a few seconds to clue in.

"They're here," She muttered," they're in the restaurant."

She resumed the cutting of her steak, both Maka and Soul looked at each other.

"Who is?" he asked.

"Our targets," She replied, they looked at her unconvinced," they're the staff."

They once more eyed each other, Maka decided to look at the souls in the restaurant.

She saw nothing, but pale souls in the building.

"It's too late," Alexis warned," they've left, and they had just appeared too."

Maka turned to her.

"How'd she know I was looking?" she thought.

Alexis continued to eat.

"How do you know they've left," Maka asked," or that they were here in th-"

The arrival of their waiter cut her off, only the young man wasn't the same waiter as the last time.

"Sorry to interrupt, but some of our staff have disappeared," he stated nervously," if there's anything you need just call me."

He walked off, with both Maka and Soul following him with surprised eyes.

"See," Alexis asked," I didn't need to see their souls to notice their absence."

Maka looked at Alexis.

"But he seemed so normal." She muttered.

Alexis scoffed.

"They don't need to be incoherent to be a kishin egg," she stated," in fact some can hide it for months before even having the thought of them being an egg cross a single mind."

Maka nodded slowly.

"But just to be sure," Alexis began, she wiped her knife and fork with her napkin," yes, there are tainted souls in the cathedral now."

She grasped her mask from inside her case and quickly slipped it on, she rose from the booth and began to walk out.

"Hey wa-" Maka attempted before Alexis was out," we need to-"

The sound of money hitting the table beside her caught her attention, she turned to Soul.

"C'mon let's go." He sighed.

When they were both out of the booth they heard Alexis speak to someone, they turned in time to see her grab a waiter and burst into the alley outside.

They quickly moved to follow her.

Out in the alley they saw that Alexis had grabbed their new waiter and had him pinned against the wall.

"Alexis what are y-"Maka began, Alexis showed her a gloved palm, she stopped.

"Who told you to tip us off?" Alexis hissed.

The man blathered, this earned him a fist to the gut.

Even though it obviously wasn't her hardest punch, it still caused him to tuck around her fist, she let him fall to the ground.

"In a language I can understand," she ordered," I don't speak idiot."

Maka eyed Alexis, once again she was acting unlike herself.

"Sure she's beating someone up," Maka thought," but her words feel off."

The waiter coughed, he rose to his elbows.

Alexis grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him to his knees.

"Who told you to tip us off?" she repeated, a silent threat lingered in her voice.

The man stared at Maka with a panicked gaze.

"Fine." Alexis spat, she reached for the man's jaw.

"Wait," he shouted," wait!"

Her hand stopped.

"Some guy in a mask," the waiter managed," he paid me to tell you."

Alexis' fingers twitched slightly.

"What did the mask look like?" she asked, her tone was almost shaking.

"It-it was,uh," the man rambled trying to recall," oh it was half white half black, he payed me and that's it, can I go?"

Alexis' grasp froze, he wriggled free and bolted back into the restaurant.

Maka approached Alexis.

"What is it?" she asked.

Alexis straightened.

"Nothing," she replied," let's go."

She strode past them, they watched her leave in the direction of the cathedral, Maka noticed the fingers on Alexis' right hand were twitching and clenching.

Maka turned to Soul, who simply shrugged at her and began to jog after Alexis.

Maka shook her head and followed him.

**Outside of the cathedral. **

The trio were soon standing outside of their target, the surrounding area was devoid of life, which included the shops directly across from the large cathedral.

"Where is everyone?" Maka asked, she shivered slightly.

Alexis began to walk forward, Soul reached for her arm.

"Don't touch me." Alexis hissed, his hand fell short.

She did stop however, she turned to them.

"What?" she spat.

Soul shook his head slightly.

"We need a plan." He stated.

Alexis' stance shifted, her hand rested on her hip.

"And that would be?" she challenged.

Soul opened his mouth, but he held his tongue.

In truth, he didn't have an answer.

"That's what I thought," Alexis sighed, she turned back to the cathedral," just stay out of the way, I won't save you."

He watched as she strode away from them.

"Well," he muttered, his body began to shift into a scythe," that's comforting."

Maka grabbed her weapon and began to walk after Alexis.

Alexis grasped the large wooden door and pushed it open.

"Huh," she huffed," they open inward."

Maka felt that she had heard that somewhere before.

"Wait," she thought," Chrona said that."

She eyed Alexis as she walked into the large cathedral.

"Maybe they aren't so different." She tried silently.

The trio strode into the large empty grand hall, their footsteps echoed heavily, but the sound was soon swallowed by the sheer size of the building.

Alexis stopped randomly, Maka almost bumped into her.

Alexis turned and pushed Maka back, a large spear landed where Maka was standing a second later, it cut Alexis' glove along with the bandages beneath it.

She brought her hand back towards her and she brought out Ko, she flipped him through the air, blocking three knives from hitting her.

She held her ground, she tensed slightly at the sound of Maka getting to her feet.

"Thanks." Maka managed as she too took a fighting stance.

"That's not going to happen again." Alexis warned.

A chain flew through the air and latched onto the spear in the stone, it was pulled into the shadows above them, a figure dropped soon after.

Alexis tensed.

"I thought it was you," she stated in a menacing tone," Kahl."

The tall, blonde man straightened, his long legs spaced themselves.

He wore almost an identical outfit to Alexis, with the exception to his bandages, which were black instead of grey, his mask hung from his side, it had a grey shackle and chain on the lower left cheek.

"Ah, Fisher," Kahl sneered," how nice to see you, but you didn't say may sign,have you forgotten me already?"

Alexis tensed further.

"No Jailbird," she assured him, she removed the case on her back, she gripped Ko harder and let the case drop to the stone," I haven't, although I wish I did."

Kahl laughed, his spear rested on the ground with a heavy thud.

It was obviously for throwing, the handle was set for one and two handed techniques, the thin spike at the top was stained red, the spike was four feet long with a heavy hammerhead at its base.

The handle itself was as tall as Kahl himself.

In his left hand he had a long chain that had multiple shackles resting on the stone floor, one shackle could be seen around his wrist, the chains coiled up his arm and into his parka's sleeve.

Kahl clapped in amusement, the blunt end of the spear crushed and stuck into the stone, it obviously was abnormally heavy.

Alexis unzipped her parka and let it too fall to the ground.

"Good, good," he praised," now we should get started."

Alexis took a wary step forward.

"Yes," she agreed, her voice was slightly crazed," we should."

Maka noticed movement all around them.

"I'll leave them to you." Alexis hissed, Maka could only turn to her before she ran off in the direction of Kahl.

Ko shifted, the blade flipped 180 degrees and thinned and lengthened.

It resembled a double hooked sword now more than anything.

Alexis gripped the two handed handle tightly as she slashed through one of the eggs in the cathedral.

She stabbed another in the gut.

"You are in my way." She hissed, she slashed to the side, the hooked blade ruptured the man's abdominal cavity, blood and entrails erupted from the terminal wound and gave the grey stone an unsettling red gloss.

The man fell to the side, a dead husk, his reddish soul dipped slightly in the air.

Maka watched as Alexis waved the soul into the case on her back.

Alexis leapt forward and landed a few meters from Kahl, he clapped loudly.

"Well done," he praised in a mocking tone," but this time you won't escape."

She tensed.

"They know each other?" Maka muttered as she blocked a slash from one of the eggs.

"Yeah I guess," Soul confirmed," let's just focus on these kishin eggs."

Maka spun and cut one egg almost in half, his soul floated in the air.

One egg approached her with a knife, she moved to disarm him, her shoulder began to burn.

Alexis swung at Kahl, he simply grabbed his spear and stepped out of the way, Ko smashed into the stone, crushed stone was flung up.

The dust in the room rippled on the ground.

"Using your other skills are you," he taunted, he rested his spear on the back of his neck," impressive for a failure."

"Shut up!" she shouted, she rushed forward, her voice echoed through the large chamber.

Ko was thrust forward, he was simply brushed aside by the chains on Kahl's hand.

She didn't think he'd knee her in the stomach, she tucked around the blow.

She doubled over and raised her mask to cough into her hand, a black liquid oozed from between her gloved fingers.

Kahl arched a brow.

"Oh ho," he chuckled he crouched in front of her," has it really been that long since you've killed anything worthwhile."

He shook his head.

She stopped her coughing.

"I said shut up." She hissed, she managed to raise herself to her feet.

He laughed in her face.

"Oh this is rich." He laughed, he too rose to his feet.

She pulled her mask down and took her stance.

She swung at his side, he jumped back in time to narrowly dodge the attack.

"That was close." He teased.

She gripped Ko's handle even harder and aimed for Kahl's neck, he ducked his head slightly resulting in another miss.

"I think you're getting better." He laughed, she gritted her teeth.

She swung at his legs, then his arm and finally she swiped at his neck.

Each attack was simply avoided and followed up with more teasing.

She moved for another stab, to her surprise, he grabbed Ko by the blade.

"This is getting boring." He stated, he pulled Ko from her grasp, she pitched forward.

He twisted his body and brought the blunt end of the spear to the side of Alexis' head, her mask shattered and fell from her face, she was carried three meters away from him and landed in a heap.

She coughed up more of the black liquid.

Maka heard Alexis shout at the man, she didn't know what about though.

She swung Soul around, cutting down two more eggs in quick succession.

She heard impact over where Alexis had gone, but she couldn't see what was happening, she heard the man talk about not killing something.

She blocked another attack from a sword wielding egg, she spun around him and swiped at his side, one more soul floated in the fight.

She heard a heavy thud and turned in time to see a bloody Alexis land hard on the ground.

"Shit," Soul muttered," she's in rough shape."

"We should help her." Maka stated.

"How," Soul asked," we still have kishin eggs to deal with."

"Yeah, but-" Maka attempted.

"Look, she's on her own for this." He grimly stated.

Maka nodded, she looked around the few remaining eggs, there was six.

Maka recognized one as the waiter from the restaurant.

He held a butcher's cleaver.

"Alright." She muttered, her shoulder burned.

Alexis rose from the ground, shards of her mask were scattered about, she looked around sadly.

She clenched her fists in anger, her deadly eyes rose to Kahl.

He smiled widely as her eyes flickered grey for a moment.

"Now we're getting somewhere." He chuckled.

She screamed at him, the stones around her cracked and burst, he eyed this surprised.

Nonetheless, he beckoned her, he kicked Ko towards her.

She flipped him onto her foot and tossed him into her grasp, the front barb on the sword grew, the sword took on an even more menacing form.

She charged him, her first slash caught his cheek, she stopped her advance when she was a few meters behind him.

He had moved, if he hadn't of she would have decapitated him, he ran a finger through the black/red liquid that oozed from the cut, he eyed it with a smile.

He turned to face her, she spun to glare at him, he gripped his mask and yanked it from his belt.

With a straight face he dropped it to the stone, he crushed it beneath his foot, her expression turned to surprised.

"You mean to die?" she asked.

"Well I'm not supposed to live," he replied, he gripped his spear," so come on then."

She ran towards him, Ko's blade almost doubled in length, she heavily smash Ko into Kahl, who barely held his ground.

She kicked his stomach and took the time to disarm him of his spear, which clattered across the stone, crushing what it touched.

She swung at his face, he barely managed to dodge, she spun and brandished a knife.

The knife was raked across his stomach, he gripped the wound, her knife disappeared and she turned to face him, she kicked the gut once more, he fell forward.

He propped himself up on his hands and knees, he looked at her with a straight face.

"Maybe they were right." He sighed as if nothing was happening.

Her fingers danced on Ko's handle, she raised him above her head.

Maka blocked another swipe from the waiter.

"Damn," she grunted, she faltered slightly," why does this guy have to be stronger?"

Through fleeting glances she saw that Alexis had indeed defeated Kahl, Maka allowed herself a sigh of slight relief.

The waiter reeled back another slash, Maka raised Soul, her shoulder gave out and her defence failed, the attack connected with the side of her head, she fell backward with a yelp of pain.

"Maka!" Soul yelled.

She managed to roll out of further harm's way.

"I'm fine." She muttered as she moved away from her attackers, her gaze fell upon Alexis.

"Maka!" came Soul's voice.

Alexis turned to face the sound, the moment her eyes left him Kahl shot forward.

Alexis quickly turned back, but her view soon filled with Kahl's smiling face.

A black/red drop rolled from the corner of her mouth, her grasp of Ko slipped and he fell to the stone.

"Or maybe," Kahl began with a tired smirked, he roughly pulled his knife from her side, the wound sputtered black blood," they were wrong."

He smiled at her for a few more seconds.

Suddenly he reeled back and thrust his knee into her new wound, black blood spewed from her open mouth.

He shoved her down, she fell beside Ko.

"Alexis!" came a cry, Kahl turned to the sound.

Maka's concerned face filled him with a sense of amusement.

"Hey look," he teased the bleeding girl beside him," you made another friend."

He turned back towards Maka, who now was a few meters away, he ducked a swipe and jumped over another.

He suddenly stepped on Soul's blade and pinned him to the ground.

"You're pretty skilled," Kahl praised, he leaned forward, his face a mere foot from Maka's," too bad you're injured right?"

Maka shifted uncomfortably, she wouldn't be able to keep this up very long.

Kahl grabbed Soul's handle and ripped him from Maka's grasp.

He kicked her a good six meters away.

"Shocking Daze." He sighed, sparks shot away from Soul, he reverted back to a human.

Kahl grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground, blood fell from Soul's mouth an scalp.

"Wait over there." Kahl ordered, he waved his left hand at Soul.

A chain shot forward and knocked Soul towards the door, he slammed into the heavy wood, causing it to crack slightly.

Kahl turned back to Maka who had now regained her footing.

He motioned towards his spear, a chain shot out and shackled the weapon, it reeled it into his grasp.

He readied his aim.

Alexis looked at Kahl, her gaze shifted to Maka, she gripped Ko and began to rise.

Kahl threw the spear, it traveled straight at Maka, who couldn't move in time.

Maka saw the spear fly, she began to move just a little too late, the spear would hit her regardless.

As the spear came closer she looked into Soul's eyes, he was in the middle of telling her to run.

She blinked.

A sudden force pushed her to the side, the sound of the spear hitting something rung in her ears.

She looked in time to watch Alexis fly across the cathedral.

Alexis' feet dragged across the floor, but this did little to alter the course of the spear, it stuck into the wall less than four meters from Maka with her head down, her hair fell in front of her face.

The next sound anyone heard was the sound of Ko clattering to the ground once more.

Maka was still for a moment before she got to her feet and ran for the nearby Alexis.

Kahl laughed heartily, as did the remaining kishin eggs, they took their place beside Kahl.

Maka reached Alexis, she put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Alexis?" she called.

Her answer was Alexis coughing up more of the black liquid, it stained the spear and the stone, it splashed against Maka's shoes.

The spear had hit Alexis right under the heart.

"What are you still doing here?" Alexis wheezed, this surprised Maka.

Alexis huffed in pained, her hand rose to the spear, she brought her glove to her face.

She bit the fingers of her glove and pulled it off, she used this bandaged hand to remove the other one.

Maka watched confused.

Alexis untied the bandages on her hands, they hung limply.

Maka noticed numerous scars on Alexis' arms as well as two circular scars on both of her hands.

"Hey, girly," she huffed with effort, Maka looked at her, she was surprised by the look on Alexis' face," this won't end well, you should grab your boyfriend and go."

Maka was taken aback.

"She's – actually concerned about us?" she thought to herself.

Alexis cried out in pain, she planted her feet flat on the ground, she gripped the hammer on the spear and pushed.

It was slowly freed from the wall, when the spike was completely out, Alexis pitched forward, the spear thudded heavily against the stone.

Maka helped Alexis remove the spear from her body, Alexis slammed into the wall, black blood splashed from the act.

Maka noticed Alexis' fingers starting to change colour.

Alexis looked at her now grey hands, the grey quickly spread.

"Damn," she spat, she looked at Maka," get out of my sight."

Maka was confused.

"What?" she asked.

Alexis shoved her weakly with one hand.

"I said get out of my line of sight," she repeated," or you'll end up a target."

Maka managed to make it to the door without looking, she peeked through the wood with Soul doing the same.

"So the Fear meister shows us her true colours." Kahl beamed, he tiredly clapped as the remaining eggs laughed.

Alexis glared at him as the grey spread underneath the clothes she still had intact.

"This won't last long." She muttered as her body shifted.

Maka visibly flinched.

"She's actually a weapon?" she stammered.

"Well didn't Lord Death say that her wavelength was for weapons only?" Soul asked.

Alexis exhaled, gauntlets formed on her arms, rippled plate boots and greaves covered her legs.

Her clothes were replaced with a demonic armor set, the front had a red skull glaring at her foes, its sharp teeth were bared.

A helmet formed over her head, her hair fixed together, the back of the helmet had a blood red decoration that looked like her hair on it.

The front of the helmet held no visor, it instead had two round places for eye holes which a greyish green light glowed from.

Where her mouth was, a sinister metal smile with sharp teeth was, it looked like actual black jaw bones, in fact the mouth moved as normal.

Alexis was now adorned in a grey, black and red armor, it looked damaged here and there, but it still looked solid.

"She's no weapon," Maka stated with surprise," she's a suit of armor."

Alexis looked at Kahl, an animalistic growl escaped the armor.

Ko lift itself from the ground and rested into the hand of the armor.

Ko shifted and twisted, his handle and blade lengthened.

He formed into a very menacing scythe, Alexis held her weapon with one hand, the blade was facing the ceiling from behind her.

Kahl's expression was that of surprise.

He waved the remaining eggs forward.

They all ran forward, Alexis cut all but the waiter in half in one swing, he strode up to her, his cleaver raised.

The weapon glanced off the armor, Alexis twisted and thrust her hand into the man's neck, his jaw burst from multiple points, his neck snapped to an unnatural angle, he slowly fell to the ground into the large pool of blood.

Kahl gripped a knife in a shaking hand.

At this point, Maka could feel the power of Alexis' soul, against her will she looked at the souls in the room.

Much to her surprise, she could see Alexis' soul.

It was very large for the body it was housed in, it was stained black, red and grey.

It had a grigory wing seemingly stitched to it with eyes spotting all around it.

She noticed that there was a lot of random soul's stitched together along with the grigory wing.

She saw that this large soul had a second soul within it, much to her surprise.

It was a strong, pale soul, almost pure, but strangely childish.

"She – she has two souls." Maka stammered.

Soul eyed her surprised.

"What?" he asked.

Maka simply shook her head.

Alexis shot towards Kahl and lopped his knife arm off with no effort, he screamed in pain.

Ko hit the stone, he had a white smoke uncurl from him, he crushed the stone.

Alexis grabbed Kahl and bit into his shoulder, the armor's jaw crushed his bones, before she could bite him again, her body reverted to a human form.

Her skin was an ashen grey, her eyes glowed green.

She jammed her hand into his stomach wound and pulled upwards, breaking all of his ribs.

He screamed once more, she grabbed his head and bit his neck, his eyes bulged, she dropped him to his knees, he fell to drown in the blood on the floor.

Alexis grabbed her head with her blood stained hands, she screamed in what seemed to be pain.

Her fingers began to regain their pale, flesh colour, this colour spread similarly to the grey before, when it reached her head, her eyes stopped glowing and she dropped her hands, she stood staring upwards in a silent scream.

Maka and Soul watched her with wide eyes.

She coughed up more black blood and fell forward unconscious.

**On top of the cathedral.**

Shroud turned to Echo.

"She did well for her first time back." Shroud commented.

"Yes," Echo agreed," but these others now know, shouldn't we get rid of them?"

Shroud placed a hand on Echo's shoulder.

"No, we need them alive too." He explained.

"Oh, ok." Echo muttered.

"Are they coming," Shroud asked," more importantly, do any others other than those two know?"

Echo concentrated for a moment.

"Yes,this Maka has summoned this Stein person, he is on his way," he answered," but no one else knows."

"Good," Shroud praised him," then our work here is done, let's go."

He jumped from the cathedral to another building with Echo in tow.

**Seven days after the Dominic fight.**

Maka sat in Alexis' hospital room, she looked down at the bandaged girl.

"What did what I saw mean?" she thought to herself.

"So you managed to get inside this time." Soul stated as he pushed the door open, he strode to Maka and took a seat beside her.

She turned to him.

"Yeah." She muttered.

He noticed the look on her face.

"Aren't you going to tell everyone?" he asked.

She looked back to Alexis.

"Not yet." She said.

"Well, I guess if you'd wanted to you would have when they picked us up." He muttered.

She simply nodded.

She looked Alexis over, she looked at peace, her entire body was bandaged, she apparently almost didn't make it, now she just wasn't getting better.

Maka rose from her seat, Alexis stirred.

Both Maka and Soul approached her warily as her eyes blinked open.

"Hey," Soul stammered," how are you feeling?"

Alexis turned to him, she immediately attempted to rise, she quickly stopped moving.

She breathed heavily for a few seconds.

Her gaze fell on a blood pack on the table beside her bed, where her food should've been.

Soul followed her gaze, he pointed it out to Maka.

Maka saw that Alexis was trying to grab the blood pack. She grabbed the plastic and almost reluctantly put it in her hand.

Alexis eyed them for a few seconds, she motioned towards the door, they both took the hint just as she bit through the plastic.

Once the door clicked shut behind them, cries of what seemed like pain emanated from the room, Maka moved back to the door, Soul grabbed her hand.

She eyed him as he shook his head.

"C'mon," he said, he began to pull Maka from the wailing door as nurses a began to come see what was happening," let's head home."

**Author's Note: ****well hello there, it's me Gorse.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, if not then why not tell me what was wrong, seriously.**

**No one has posted a review in so long, if I mess something up please let me know.**

**The whole point of this story is to get practice for my future works, if I don't get any constructive criticism than I might as well not do it at all, though I probably will, anyway, most of this was written at twelve oclock to four in the morning, I'm not exactly at my best right now, but hey it was this or wait another day for ideas to fall out of my head.**

**Fun fact, that fight between Kahl and Alexis is linked to a song from a game, its dragon quest 9 just so you know.**

**It's the song that plays in the spirit place and in stella's room.**

**I thought it seemed pretty good on paper but maybe somethings got lost in translation.**

**Anyway whatever feedback for the chapter that you have for me, is greatly appreciated, seriously.**

**I hope that this does well as I like writing this story, it's fun.**

**Anywhoo, I'll see you next chapter, BYYEEE.**

**-GorseT**


	6. Chapter 6

Knowing someone doesn't help with shit around here,

Knowing when they'll betray you does.

You know what else helps,

Knowing how they plan to do so.

Keep your friends close and your enemies within range.

-Elizabeth McClissey

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

Maka strode through the almost empty streets.

She sighed at the thought of the incident at the cathedral, Kid's words echoed through her mind.

"Maybe he's wrong." She thought for the millionth time.

It had been a few days since Alexis had woken up, she still hadn't told anyone else what had happened or what she saw.

Soul had come around, he now trusted Alexis enough to not curse her name at every turn, which was a start.

She stopped and looked around at the few other people on the street.

"I'll tell Kid first." She decided.

She began to walk towards Kid's mansion, a strangely familiar feeling swam through her mind.

She stopped and looked around, everything seemed normal.

She uneasily resumed her journey to Kid's.

When she had left, a man stepped out from the shadows.

His blood red hair swayed in the wind, he looked to be in his teens.

His blue eyes seemed to shine in the sunlight.

He sighed, his grey t-shirt and black pants seemed normal enough, however the thin, black cases strapped to his forearms were anything but.

Curiously he had a tool belt hanging from his waist, it had various sizes of wrenches and hammers attached to it.

He wore black gloves with no fingers, some scars could be seen on the uncovered flesh.

He had a bandage from his left cheek to his left earlobe.

"So that's the one," he muttered, he rested his scarred arms in his pockets, an act he had observed many times before," guess that'll be a problem."

He walked some distance behind Maka, his feet were bare, with some cuts here and there.

Due to his lack of shoes, it was possible to see that he was missing the pinky toe on his right foot, it had healed over giving away the fact that it was a very old wound.

The cuts on his arms were for the most part short and mildly curved, though he did have two long lines parallel to each other on the inside of his forearms.

His face was mostly clear, but he did have a line from the right of his right eye, it traveled to his temple.

His bored expression was evident to all who saw him.

He politely let a woman past when he accidently cut her off, he smiled warmly as she walked away.

His smile soon disappeared.

He liked this place for whatever reason.

"It's so quiet." He muttered, he walked with closed eyes for a little while.

He followed Maka until she reached her destination.

When she entered the mansion he stopped.

He looked around for anyone to be watching, when he saw no one he fiddled with the case on his left arm, he opened it then immediately closed it.

A shadow shifted nearby, the others were in place, he turned and left.

**Outside the mansion.**

Maka still felt a strange presence, it was similar to Alexis' wavelength, but not entirely the same.

She pushed her thoughts aside and knocked on the door, it took a few seconds for anyone to answer.

"Oh," Liz muttered, she looked tired," hey Maka."

"Hey Liz," Maka replied," I need to see Kid."

Liz looked at Maka for a few seconds, she yawned and gestured her head towards the inside of the mansion, she stood to the side to let Maka past.

On her way down the hall she walked past a painting, she froze the second it was behind her.

"Wait." she thought, she took a couple steps back and looked at the skull in the painting, the picture seemed fine, except for the fact that the frame was on a very noticeable angle.

"Yeah I know," Liz stated when she noticed the look on Maka's face," he hasn't fixed a single painting since this Alexis arrived."

Maka turned to Liz.

"Really," she asked, Liz nodded," wow, I had no idea that she had THIS much of an impact on him."

"Yeah, did he ever tell you about it?" Liz asked.

"Sorta," Maka replied," he explained why he doesn't trust her, but that's it."

Liz nodded and moved past Maka.

"C'mon, Kid's this way." She stated, she waved Maka forward.

Maka followed Liz to the dining area, she was surprised by the sound of BlackStar's voice.

She entered the dining area, both Kid and BlackStar turned to her, they were seated at the table, BlackStar's feet were planted on the wooden table, he balanced on two chair legs.

Despite Kid being only a few feet from BlackStar, he seemed to not care what so ever.

"Oh, hey Maka," BlackStar greeted her," what's up?"

Maka looked at BlackStar confused.

Kid waved her looks away from BlackStar.

"I'll explain later," he promised," did you need something?"

Maka looked at BlackStar for a few more seconds.

"Yeah," she stammered, she turned to Kid," I need to talk to you about Alexis."

"Who?" BlackStar asked.

"BlackStar," Tsubaki sighed, Maka was startled, she hadn't seen her leaning against the wall," she's the girl Kid was talking to you about, you really should pay more attention.

Maka was surprised by this, she turned to Kid.

"You're telling him?" she asked.

"Yes, they're the only ones from our group that don't know," Kid explained." I thought that they should."

Maka simply nodded, his logic was sound for the most part.

"So," he started," what did you want to talk about?"

"She's in the hospital right now." Maka stated, he jolted upwards, knocking his chair over.

"She's what!?" he almost shouted.

He stared at her for a few seconds.

"We had a mission." Maka continued, she simply looked at him.

"What," he asked, he seemed angry," what do you mean WE?"

BlackStar seemed to be getting interested now, he dropped his feet to the floor.

"Stein asked Soul and I to watch her." Maka explained.

Kid grabbed his chair and righted it, he sat back down, he rest his head in his hands.

"Is she alright?" he finally asked.

Maka looked at Kid.

"You still care about her?" Maka asked.

"Of course I do," he shot back," you can't always just hate someone."

"Even after all she's done?" Maka asked.

"Yes," he quickly replied, he gazed at her," even after all she's done I still want to see her as the girl she used to be."

Maka looked at Kid surprised, he definitely never talked like this before, he seemed almost sad.

"She's fine though right?" he asked, he was looked at the wall.

Maka nodded.

"Yeah, she woke up a little while ago." She stated, he sighed.

He straightened slightly.

"She saved us." Maka told him.

His eyes widened, he turned to face her.

"What?" he asked.

"She saved Soul and I." Maka repeated, Kid rose from his chair.

He strode over to Maka and placed his hand on her shoulder, he led her to a seat.

"Details," he demanded as she sat down, he sat across from her," now."

The red haired boy leaned against a stone wall, he was about thirty meters from the mansion.

His earpiece crackled, he tapped it.

"I thought we were going for radio silence." He stated.

"I know," came the response," but she's spilling."

The boy sighed.

"What they do isn't our concern," he stated," Shroud, you know that."

"Yes, but we have another problem." Shroud warned, the boys eyes narrowed.

"Problem?" he repeated.

"Yes, Fisher's no longer in her room," Shroud stated," she's on her way to the mansion!"

The boy pushed from the wall, he looked down the road, sure enough, there was a bandaged Alexis walking towards him.

"Of course," he started, a large smile cracked over his face," good."

"Good," Shroud asked," Tremor, how is this good?"

Tremor began to walk away from the mansion.

"Hide yourselves," he ordered," we need them to talk."

"Really?" Kid asked.

Maka nodded, he locked his fingers together.

"Well this is strange," he muttered," for her."

"Maybe she's not who you're warning me about." Maka offered.

Before he could answer there was a knock on the front door, he turned to Liz who shook her head but still moved towards the door.

Everyone was quiet enough to hear the door open then quickly shut, Liz ran into the room.

"It's her!" she shouted.

Everyone stood up, they all exchanged looks.

Kid was the only one to move towards the front door, he soon returned with Alexis in tow.

She was lightly bandaged on her stomach, her cut-off shirt covered her chest, her arms and legs however were laid bare, in fact she wasn't even wearing shoes.

Maka saw that Alexis was missing her pinky toe on her left foot, an old wound due to the fact that just scar tissue was present.

Her arms were riddled with cuts of various sizes, she had a large bruise on the left side of her face.

"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Maka asked.

"C'mon Girly," Alexis started," that place is boring."

Everyone looked at Maka and Alexis.

"Girly?" Liz asked.

"That's what she calls me." Maka explained.

Kid looked at Alexis.

"So you're on a nickname basis now?" his tone was slightly harsh.

Alexis slowly raised a hand and pushed him away from her.

"Jealous are we?" she teased.

"Not jealous," he assured her," just confused."

Alexis giggled, she turned to BlackStar, her face changed somewhat.

"Oo," she cooed, she rest her hands on her knees and leaned forward," who's this?"

Everyone looked at her confused.

"Um, he's BlackStar." Maka managed.

"Yes and I BlackStar am the greatest assassin ever." BlackStar stated proudly, he jolted upwards knocking his chair over, he struck a pose.

This caused Alexis to laugh loudly, everyone was once again surprised.

"As if." She managed.

BlackStar's face changed.

"What?" he asked, he got angry and got into her face," do you think you're the best?"

This earned him another laugh.

"Oh no," she assured him, she wiped the tears forming in her eyes," that title belongs to someone I know, but not me."

BlackStar growled angrily.

"Who is this person," he asked," I'll show them."

Alexis simply laughed at him once more.

Her behaviour confused Maka.

"Why is BlackStar not getting hit or something," she thought," he's the first to get that close to her without a threat, well other than me."

"You're funny," Alexis stated, she looked right at BlackStar, she extended her hand," wanna be friends?"

Everyone stopped and looked at Alexis' face.

Kid was the most surprised, he stared at her with wide eyes.

Without thinking, BlackStar grasped her hand, she pulled him towards her, Kid took a step towards her.

She presented her palm to him, he stopped moving, she was looking at the star on BlackStar's shoulder.

"Oo, Star Clan,"she stated," not bad."

She released BlackStar, who took a few hurried steps back.

Alexis giggled at him.

"What's wrong, I don't bite," she stated, her eyes narrowed," hard."

Her joke didn't earn her much, she looked around.

"Hey," she began," Where's Soul?"

Tsubaki stepped into her view.

"He's at home." Maka stated, hoping to get Alexis to stop staring at Tsubaki.

It didn't work.

"Who's this?" Alexis asked, she obviously wasn't checking the souls of anyone.

"Oh," Tsubaki stammered, she bowed slightly," I'm Tsubaki."

Alexis watched her with a confused look on her face, she bowed as well.

"A pleasure to meet you." Tsubaki stated as she straightened.

Kid watched as Alexis straightened as well.

Liz slipped out of the room, things had apparently gotten too strange.

"Alexis," he started, she ignored him, he rolled his eyes," Fisher."

Alexis turned to face him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

It took her a few seconds to answer that question.

"I wanted to see you," she stated," is there a problem with that?"

"No, not really but-" he attempted.

"Good," she replied, cutting him off," cause now I'm here."

Everyone exchanged looks.

"I think we should go," Tsubaki muttered, she led BlackStar to the door," bye everyone."

That left the three of them to look at each other.

"Soul probably is getting worried," Maka stated, it was a lame excuse," bye Kid, bye Alexis."

She strode out of the room and out the front door, leaving Kid to look at Alexis.

She walked to the chair that BlackStar had knocked over, she righted it and sat down.

Kid took his own seat after a few seconds, they sat in silence.

"Do you hate me," she asked, he looked at her," I know that you're probably saying that you don't, but-"

She trailed off, she turned to him.

"Do you?" she finished.

"Why would I hate you?" he asked, she sighed.

"That's not an answer," she stated," that's just you seeing if you have reasons, which you do."

He looked down at his hands.

"No," he stated, they both looked at each other," I don't hate you, I just-"

He too trailed off.

"You just don't trust me anymore." She stated.

He nodded sadly.

"Yeah," he agreed," I guess."

He sighed.

"So I heard that your friend killed Asura." Alexis stated.

He turned to her.

"Yeah, she did." He confirmed.

"Were you there?" she asked.

"Yeah." He replied.

Alexis looked at her arms.

"I'm sorry." She stated.

His eyes widened in surprise.

"I shouldn't have done that to you." She continued.

He rose from his chair.

"C'mon." he ordered, his tone caused her to rise.

He led her to the front door and opened it for her, she stepped through it and turned to face him, her hand was outstretched.

He eyed it for what felt like an eternity.

He eventually gripped her hand, she pulled him closer, until her face was mere inches from his.

Her two hands wrapped around his, he felt her place something in his hand.

Her eyes blinked, she pecked him on the cheek.

"I shouldn't have taken this from you," she stated, she released his hand," I really am sorry."

She turned to go, she began to walk away by the time Kid opened his hand.

In his hand was a small skull the size of a large marble, it was crafted in loving detail out of onyx, the veins of white crawled over the black and grey.

"Alexis wait." He called, she stopped and turned to see him still staring at the small skull.

"I know that it belonged to your mother," she stated," I didn't know at the time."

He walked forward, not for a second taking his eyes off of the carving, when he was just within arm's length he stopped.

She looked at his face, a strange mix of emotions were present.

Suddenly he had her in a tight embrace, her surprise was evident.

"I forgive you." He whispered in her ear.

She smiled slightly and hugged him back.

When they separated they looked around awkwardly.

"So," she began," does this mean we're ok?"

He boasted a slight smirk and extended his hand.

She grasped it tightly and they shook.

"Yeah we're ok." He assured her.

She began to walk away from him.

"I'll uh," she began, she looked at the ground, her gaze managed to meet his," I'll see you tomorrow."

He watched her go until he could no longer see her, he then turned and re-entered his home, a slight smile on his face.

When he walked inside, he walked past the skull painting, he stopped.

A frown formed on his face, he took a few steps back.

He turned to the painting, he pointed at it.

"How long has this been like that!?" he called to Liz.

Tremor grinned, no one had noticed him.

"Well done." He praised Shroud, who had just explained what had happened inside the house.

"Yes," Shroud agreed," good job Echo."

"Well we needed the info." Echo said as if nothing had happened.

"And without you we never would have," Shroud stated," c'mon, I say we head home."

He paused for a few seconds.

"We do have a house right?" he asked.

Tremor smiled.

"Yeah," he confirmed," we have a three bedroom apartment ready for us."

"Oh good," Shroud sighed with relief," I thought that we'd have to sleep in the gutter again."

"No, everything is working as planned," Tremor beamed," soon master will have his way."

Maka opened the door to her apartment , she strode inside, it was still early given how long she was out.

"Hey," Soul called, he was leaning against the kitchen wall," how'd it go?"

She dropped onto the couch.

"I don't know," she admitted," Alexis showed up."

Soul walked from the wall and sat down beside her.

"Really," he asked, she nodded," wow, well what happened?"

"She met BlackStar and Tsubaki." She told him.

"And?" he prompted.

"AND we left Kid alone with her." She replied.

Soul was surprised by this.

"Really, well wha-" he tried.

"We'll find out what happened tomorrow." She assured him.

This seemed to satisfy him.

"Yeah I guess," he muttered," I just hope nothing goes wrong, for either of them."

Maka nodded in agreement.

Alexis walked back to her house, she had already put her things there.

She entered her room and sat down on the floor, she grabbed the bag that held her mask and emptied the shards onto the floor.

She stared at them for a few seconds, she arranged them in such a way that they were in their proper place.

Her hands hovered over the shards, she breathed heavily, her eyes flicked to grey, the pieces began to stitch themselves together until her mask was intact, she coughed up black blood and stopped her work before it was completely fixed however.

A large web of cracks lanced from the point of impact and reached the mask's nose.

She eyed it, it seemed to fit despite how she felt about damage to the mask.

She dropped the mask on the end table and turned to her sheets on the floor.

She froze, had she really seen it?

She slowly turned back to the table, sure enough, at the end of it was a large shard of Kahl's mask, the eye stared at her.

'Where did tha-" she began, her voice caught in her throat.

The words of the man from Europe echoed through her head.

She slashed the shard off of the table, it shattered on the ground.

She grabbed Ko from his case and turned off the lights, she nestled into her blankets.

She didn't fall asleep however.

She didn't have the courage to.

**Author's Note: ****hey guys it's Gorse.**

**How was this short chapter?**

**Good, bad, confusing, if it is any of these than tell me and I'll work on it.**

**I managed to scrounge up the time to write this today so ya, I managed to finish it at one in the morning so yay, sleep for me.**

**I hope you can like the little thing I have going between Kid and Alexis, I just couldn't bring myself to have him hate her.**

**Btw I will explain the carving, don't worry, I like to tie up loose ends, but I also like to have a lot of things connect to each other.**

**Now you may be asking "Gorse, why would Alexis be scared to fall asleep," or " why does she like BlackStar," trust me I have no idea why I wrote the BlackStar thing.**

**I for one hate him, but I don't just destroy a character or show because of this.**

**As for the sleeping thing, that will be explained soon enough, along with these newcomers. (I can't wait!)**

**Anyway I hope you enjoyed this short read, but if you didn't, let me know why.**

**Just your feedback is a huge help.**

**See you next chapter, BYYEEE.**

**-GorseT**


	7. Chapter 7

You don't have to hit hard to be strong,

But it doesn't hurt.

Well,

I guess it does.

-Forge

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

**Note: ****this chapter starts on the same day as last chapter, you may need to reread it to refresh your memory.**

Tremor walked through the empty streets.

The moon hung in the sky.

He sighed heavily.

"Everything is going as planned," he muttered," now I just need to be a little reckless."

He strode past the window of Maka and Soul's apartment, he looked up at the glass pane.

"So this is where they live," he stated," not bad."

He gazed at any nearby souls.

Two souls were in the apartment, one was asleep, the other was awake, but tired.

He decided that it was close enough to the window, he stooped and snatched up a rock from the ground.

Without even looking he hooked his hand over his head, the rock soon bounced off of the window, the soul seemed to jump.

He kept walking as Maka opened the window and looked out.

She saw him and followed him with her eyes.

He turned his head and gave her a sideways look, his blue eyes flashed in the moon light.

He tucked his gloved hands into his tool belt and turned, continuing to walk away.

He entered the darkness like it was a second skin, but he purposely turned towards the basketball court that the group played at.

Just as planned, Maka soon came out of the building, she ran to where she saw him and searched, she saw him exit the shadows down the road, she moved to follow him.

He felt a pang of disappointment at how easy this was, he almost just stopped and approached her, but he decided to see how long she'd think he hadn't noticed her.

His fingers twitched in anticipation.

He reached the court, he read the environment with barely a glance, he instantly faded into shadow.

Maka arrived soon after, she looked around.

"Where'd he go?" she breathed.

She walked along the wall, she brushed her hand against the stone, a slight dust fell from the act, she looked over the court, when she reached a certain point she stopped.

She sighed and turned to go.

"I guess I lost him." She muttered sadly.

She retraced her steps, halfway back she heard something behind her.

It sounded like metal striking stone.

"But you were so close to finding me." A voice mused.

She straightened, the noise repeated, it did once more a few seconds later.

It repeated once more.

It now had a tempo similar to a heartbeat, dully sounding every few seconds.

Maka completed her turn, the red haired boy looked at her with a bored expression on his face, he struck the wall lightly with a mallet.

A shadow covered much of his face.

The sound echoed through the air.

"Hello, scythe meister Maka." He greeted her, his bored face didn't change, the mallet struck the wall.

She stared at him, it was at this point that she noticed the mask hanging from his belt, her heartbeat quickened.

It took her a few seconds to notice that the strikes on the walls had increased in tempo as well.

It was her heart he was mimicking.

"Who are you, you creep!?" she asked him loudly.

The mallet stopped just short of the wall, after a few seconds he lightly tapped the wall.

His gaze met her eyes, it pierced the shadows.

"Are you scared?" he asked, she gritted her teeth.

"Shut up." She ordered.

He stared at her for a few seconds.

He reached for something attached to his belt, it was a very thick book.

"How did I not notice that?" she asked herself.

He flipped his mallet in his fingers before slamming it into its place in his belt.

A pen snapped into his fingers as he opened the book, his hand barely fit around its spine.

She couldn't get a very good look at the book through the shadows.

He flipped through some pages and began moving the pen over the paper, she wasn't sure what he was doing.

The air shifted and pitched, he closed the book and clipped it back to his belt after a few minutes.

"Thank you." He said, he turned to go.

She arched a brow in confusion.

"Where are you going?" she almost hissed.

He stopped, he turned back to her.

He looked at the ground, his hair fell in front of his face.

"To collect more data." He stated.

She took a step forward.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"How's Alexis?" he quickly shot back, cutting her off.

Her eyes narrowed.

"I need to speak with her." He said, he turned back to him, his stoic tone lingered.

Maka's fists clenched.

His gaze lifted slightly.

"Do you want to know who I am," he asked, he eyed one of the cases on his arms," alright then."

This surprised her.

"What?" she blurted.

He stepped backwards into the light, it quickly waved over his red hair, it rested over his mouth, he still looked to the side.

"I'll let you in on a little secret." He offered, she took a step towards him.

She eyed him warily.

"I'm meeting your new friend tomorrow at seven," he stated, he brought his hand into the light, Maka could just make out the small scars on his fingers," and she's expecting me."

Maka was taken aback by this.

"W-why are you telling me this?" she stammered.

He gave a huff of amusement.

"Because," he started," I want more-"

He trailed off.

"More what?" she asked.

He turned towards her, he smiled menacingly, his sharp teeth shone in the light.

"Data." He stated.

The air seemed to stand still.

"Who are you?" she asked once more.

His smile faded slightly, but not by much, he pushed his face further into the light.

It swept off of his mouth and onto his grey eyes, he stared at her unblinking.

In fact his eyes didn't move whatsoever.

He slowly brought a hand to his face, he waved some hair from his face as he shut his eyes.

After a moment he opened them, the blue came washing in, it shone in the light.

He looked around and blinked, he finally looked at her.

"So that's how you look up close." He muttered loud enough for her to hear.

"What do you mean," she asked, she took a challenging step forward," tell me who you are!"

Her teeth gritted together.

He simply looked at her and reached for his book again.

He flipped through the pages without looking, he stopped randomly and wrote down something quickly and gripped the top of a page.

A sound behind her caught her attention, she whirled about.

She was surprised to see a stone the size of her fist roll along the ground a few feet away from her, it was wrapped in what looked like rubber, she glanced at a tree that had a broken rubber band attached to it.

Her pulse quickened and she turned once more.

The boy was gone.

She scanned the area, after a minute it was obvious that he wasn't coming back.

She stomped her feet in frustration, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Damn it," she pouted," he set that rock up to distract me, now he got away."

She was impressed, he had read how long the conversation was going to last and set up precautions to keep that timeline in check.

He had gone through a lot of trouble to plan this meeting.

She turned to go, but a piece of paper where the boy stood caught her eye, it was in a beam of light that just barely covered it.

She gingerly strode over to it and picked it up.

The brownish piece of paper was similar to parchment or sketch paper.

It had eight words written on it, "want to know my name" along with " see other side" in a large, but neat print.

She flipped the paper over and was surprised by what she saw.

There staring up at her was a sketch of her, in loving detail, she noticed that the ink was still damp.

"So this is what he was doing," She muttered as she eyed the face of herself, the sketch was even wearing the pajamas she was wearing at the moment," how'd he draw this so fast?"

It took her a moment to see that the picture was pointing towards the wall.

She arched a brow and turned, there on the wall, was the imprint of DS in large breaks in the bricks.

A flash of the boy striking the wall flicked through her mind.

"He was writing his initials with a mallet while we spoke," She stammered," so he really did plan the entire thing."

She took a step towards the exit, she stopped midstride.

She eyed the sketch of herself and then the DS on the wall.

"But why would he tell me," she began," that he was going to see Alexis tomorrow."

A single word echoed through her mind.

Data.

She now knew that he wanted to see what she'd do with the information.

She gripped the paper tightly and began to run back home.

She had some things to prepare.

**The next morming.**

Maka knocked on Kid's door, it took a few moments for the door to open.

Liz rubbed her eye with her fist.

She blinked in surprise at Soul, Maka, BlackStar and Tsubaki all looking back at her.

"Um," she stammered tiredly," hey guys, what's up?"

"Where's Kid," Maka asked, "I'll explain on the way."

Ten minutes later they were running over to Alexis'.

"You're positive he said seven?" Kid asked.

Maka nodded.

"Yeah," she confirmed," he did."

"Why would he tell you that?" Liz asked.

"My guess is he wanted to see what I'd do." Maka stated.

"That would make sense." Kid said.

After a few minutes they arrived at Alexis' street, they turned the corner and kept up their pace.

About halfway to the house, the red haired boy landed in front of them.

They all skidded to a halt.

He had been waiting on one of the buildings for them.

He clicked a pocket watch shut.

"It's five in the morning," he stated as he placed it in the backpack he was wearing, his tool belt rustled from the act, his blue eyes waved over them," you're early yes, but-"

He trailed off.

Kid took a step forward.

"But what?" he asked.

"I thought you'd be faster." He replied.

They all stared at him.

Finally BlackStar stepped forward.

"This is boring," he stated as he approached the newcomer, he cracked his knuckles," I'll take care of this creep."

"BlackStar wait," Tsubaki called," we don't know anything about him!"

The boy presented her his palm.

"It's alright," he said, he turned to BlackStar," what are your terms?"

BlackStar stopped.

"My what?" he asked.

"Your terms," the boy repeated," if you win, what do you want?"

BlackStar actually thought about this.

"I wa-" he tried.

"We want your name," Maka stated, cutting BlackStar off," and your reason for being here."

"Hey!" BlackStar yelled.

"You want two things," the boy asked, he shrugged," alright, I'm in a good mood today."

The group exchanged looks.

"Now if I win-" he began he trailed off and started pacing.

They watched him warily.

He stopped in the exact place he started.

"If I beat all of you," he repeated," I get an audience with your dear Alexis."

Kid took a step forward, but Maka stopped him with her hand.

"And I get the option to hospitalise one of you." The boy finished.

Maka's eyes widened.

The group all looked at him surprised.

He met their gaze.

"What," he asked," you get two things, it's this or I simply disappear for a little while.

He shrugged.

"I've done it before." He stated.

They all turned to look at each other.

"Wait," Kid started, he turned back to the boy," you said all of us?"

The boy nodded, his calm face stared directly into the group.

They all turned to each other as the boy began to drop his things off to the side.

His large book lay on some cloth with his cases on top.

He dropped his tool belt respectively on the bound book as well.

He strode back to the centre of the street.

He turned to BlackStar.

"What should we do?" Kid asked.

"I don't know," Maka stated," should we just leave?"

"No," Kid warned," we may not get this chance again."

"But one of us could be hurt," Soul said," badly."

Kid thought about this for a few seconds.

They continued to argue while Patty looked past them at the boy.

"Hey," she said, she pointed at him," what's BlackStar doing?"

They all stopped and turned.

They saw BlackStar running towards the boy.

"BlackStar no!" Kid yelled.

It was too late, BlackStar's fist was already set for the boy's face.

The group moved towards him.

What surprised them all was the fact that the attack hit, it knocked the boy off of his feet.

He rose rather quickly however.

He shrugged off the blow with some effort and turned back to BlackStar.

"H-he hit him." Maka stammered.

"But he was acting so tough." Liz mused.

Kid crossed his arms over his chest.

"I guess it was a bluff." Soul offered.

The boy made a hook for BlackStar's face, a strike that was easily countered with a catch and jab.

The boy's shoes skidded on the ground, he quickly ran forward and kicked BlackStar's stomach.

BlackStar barely moved at all, he simply gripped the boy's leg and slammed him into the ground, the boy spat out blood, but still rose to his feet.

A right cross from BlackStar caused more blood to escape his lips.

The group started to cheer BlackStar on, except for Kid, who was watching carefully.

"This is too easy," he thought, he caught the look on the boy's face, it hadn't changed even a little," he's holding back."

BlackStar charged up a punch, the strike hit the boy in the jaw, his wavelength floored the boy, but once again he rose to his feet.

The boy approached and made three kicks for BlackStar's side and face, which were easily dodged.

The boy moved forward.

He slashed at BlackStar's nose.

BlackStar dodged and grabbed the boy's arm, a quick twist caused it to break at the elbow with a crunch.

The group stopped cheering and stared at BlackStar's surprised face, he quickly kneed the boy in the stomach and pushed him down, the boy lay on the ground, looking up at the sky.

Kid was shaking his head.

"He was holding back." He stated, Maka turned to him.

"He was?" she asked.

Kid nodded.

"Yeah, I guess that cost him the fight." Kid continued.

BlackStar turned back to the group, he walked back with his arms behind his head.

The group smiled at his victory.

"Hah," BlackStar laughed," that was quick even for me, that was so easy!"

He snickered obnoxiously.

The group's faces soon changed as they looked behind him however.

"Uh," Maka started in a shaky voice, she pointed behind him," BlackStar?"

BlackStar stopped, he looked at everyone confused.

"What?" he asked, his arms dropped to his side and he turned around.

He jumped back from the sight of the boy calmly getting to his feet, his right forearm hung limp.

His face was completely unchanged, his half lidded eyes stared into BlackStar's.

"Is that all then?" the boy asked, he wiped a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth with is left thumb.

BlackStar took a step back.

"Alright," Kid managed," tell us who you are!"

The boy shook his head.

"I don't think so." He replied in a bored tone.

Kid took a step forward.

"But," he stammered," you lost!"

The boy cocked his head.

"Lost," the boy repeated, he waved his left arm along his torso," I'm still breathing."

He stared at them for a few seconds.

He lifted his foot up and slipped off his shoe, he did the same for the other foot.

His toes scrunched on the stone.

He turned his body to the side.

His bare feet spread evenly.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, he sighed then opened them.

The empty grey void replaced the ocean blue, he stared unblinking.

BlackStar cocked his head to the side, the boys gaze didn't move.

BlackStar gritted his teeth and stepped forward, the boy slowly raised his left hand, he presented the back of his hand to BlackStar while still looking away from him.

BlackStar picked up his pace and ran at the boy, his fist reeled back.

His fist thrust forward, the boy waited until the last possible moment before moving.

He leaned back and swiped BlackStar's fist behind him, he spun around BlackStar and thrust his open palm into the back of BlackStar's head.

The blow caused BlackStar to flip forward and land on his back.

The group looked on in awe.

"How did he-" Maka blurted.

BlackStar flipped onto all fours, he slammed his fist into the ground and planted his feet.

He shot towards the boy, who simply sidestepped out of his way.

He turned and ran at the boy again, he charged his right fist and reeled it back.

"You're mine!" he yelled as he thrust his fist forward.

The boy caught his fist easily.

BlackStar squirmed under the boys iron grip.

"Am I now?" he asked.

He raised his right bicep, his fore arm snapped back into place with a sickening crackle.

He raised BlackStar's hand with his left and punched him in the gut with his right, the force of the blow knocked him back towards the group.

He skidded to a halt at their feet, he held his stomach and coughed up blood.

"BlackStar!" Tsubaki cried, she rushed to his side.

"I'm fine." He wheezed as he sat up.

The boy gave a small huff of amusement.

"Is that so," he asked, he wasn't even looking at them, his back was turned," well I'd hate to see you're not."

The group all exchanged looks, this was getting out of hand.

"You're an assassin right?" the boy asked BlackStar.

BlackStar clenched his fist at the boy.

"Damn right!" he answered.

"You know the rules right?" the boy asked.

BlackStar lowered his fist.

"Of course," he said," assassin's rule number one, di-"

"Yes yes, I know that rule," the boy stated cutting him off," but do you know this rule?"

BlackStar cocked his head.

"Dying for the good of the mission is only acceptable if your comrades succeed," the boy mused, he cracked his neck," are you ready to die for this mission?"

The group all exchanged looks, except for BlackStar, who simply glared at the boy.

The boy waved them away from their thoughts.

"Well go on," he ordered," become weapons."

Everyone except for BlackStar and Kid boasted an uncertain look.

"Liz, Patty." Kid called.

"Kay!" yelled Patty as she turned into a pistol.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Liz sighed as she did the same.

Kid aimed his weapons at the boy as BlackStar got to his feet.

"Tsubaki." He almost spat.

"Right." She replied as she became an assassin's blade.

BlackStar took his place beside Kid.

Soul turned to Maka, she looked back at him concerned.

He offered her his hand, she grasped it after a few seconds, he turned into a scythe and she spun him in her hands, she slashed the air and held a slightly more confident look.

"C'mon guys," BlackStar," if we beat the kishin we can kill this guy!"

On this last point he ran forward, he slashed at the boy, who simply dodged out of the way.

"Wait, we're not-" Kid tried, Maka's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Look, his priorities may be wrong, but he does have a point," Maka stated," so let's get this done."

"Right." Soul agreed.

She ran forward to join the fight.

Kid watched the failed attempts to hit the boy, he shot at him here and there, but the boy managed to avoid all of their attacks.

"This is getting us nowhere." He muttered, he ran into the fray as well.

The boy didn't seem to see Kid approach, Kid took the opportunity to swing at the boy.

The swipe seemed to come into contact, but the boy followed the momentum of the pistol and rolled away from the group.

"Out of the way!" BlackStar yelled, he flipped over Kid and ran for the boy."Tsubaki, enchanted sword mode!"

"Right." She shot back as she shifted forms, tattoos crawled over BlackStar's face, he swiped the black blade to the side.

Maka ran for the boy too.

Kid stayed back, he was surprised to see the boy put his gloved hands into his pockets, he shifted his weight.

"Wait guys!" Kid warned too late.

The boy didn't seem to follow their moves, but still shifted slightly.

"Blind Man's Gamble." The boy muttered before he ran headlong into their attacks.

BlackStar swung high, Maka readied a low swing.

The boy ran for Tsubaki, his feet traveled forward, his torso pitched backward.

The blade missed the boy's nose by less than an inch.

The boy landed on his shoulders, he flipped over Maka's swing and somersaulted towards Kid.

Kid raised Liz and Patty a little too late, the boy's foot impacted the top of Kid's head.

The boy's feet planted on the ground as Kid's head traveled downwards.

The boy ducked dodging another swing from Maka, he jumped towards her, while in the air he almost stepped off of Maka's shoulder, pushing her to the ground, he gripped Soul with his feet and threw him at BlackStar, who took the scythe handle to the gut, both sprawled out on the ground as the boy planted his feet.

The boy dodged a shot from Kid, which flew past and hit BlackStar in the face, he writhed on the ground.

"Ah, damn it Kid," he shouted," that really hurt!"

"Sorry!" Kid called, his vision still slightly blurred.

Kid turned to where Maka had fallen, she was getting to her feet.

"He managed to make us look like a bunch of idiots," Kid thought to himself, he shook his head clear of the haze in his vision," without even using his hands!"

"Kid, watch out!" Liz called.

Kid turned in time to block a kick from the boy, who still hadn't removed his hands from his pockets, the boy's expression seemed even more bored than before.

"He isn't even breaking a sweat!" Kid stammered loudly.

The boy tucked and flipped, dodging an attack from BlackStar.

"Damn it!" he shouted, he leapt after the boy." GET BACK HERE!"

The boy landed and ducked under the blade, he kicked BlackStar in the side, it knocked him off of his feet.

Maka ran in with Soul, she swung at the boy's mid-section.

The boy stopped the blade with his bare foot, his skin tore and a thin trickle of black and red blood leaked onto the stone.

Maka saw this and jumped back.

"That's it," she exclaimed," he has black blood!"

Everyone moved towards him, the boy stood on one foot, he shook his head.

"And?" he asked.

He stomped the cut foot down and raised it once more, the cut sealed itself and the blood drained away.

"How is he doing that?" Kid asked himself.

BlackStar charged the boy again.

"Fine, you first." The boy said loud enough for them to hear.

Maka heard this and charged towards him with Kid moving last.

"One, two, three," The boy said, his posture straightened slightly," Multi Force Finisher."

He moved towards BlackStar, he removed his hands from his pockets, he dodged a back handed slash and spun around BlackStar.

He wrapped his arm around BlackStar's sword arm and grabbed his head.

The boy kneed BlackStar in the back, he flipped over BlackStar to avoid a swipe from Maka.

He spun and his foot impacted Maka's head, he grabbed Soul once more, he swiped Liz and Patty out of Kid's hands.

He threw Soul at Maka and landed, he turned back to BlackStar and launched himself at the stunned student.

His knee struck BlackStar's temple, Soul reverted to human form and slammed into Maka, Liz and Patty returned to human form and hit one of the brick walls a few meters away.

BlackStar was carried through the air to a wall, he crushed some of the brick and landed in a heap, he was knocked out and thus was out of the fight.

Tsubaki reverted to her human form and scrambled to try to revive him.

Maka and Soul skidded to a halt, they were done fighting too.

The boy stood up straight, he sidestepped away from a kick from Kid.

Kid was in his Mortal Sin stance, his angry eyes burned into the boy, who didn't even look at him, his grey eyes just stared ahead.

Kid realized the boy hadn't blinked the entire time.

"You're blind," He muttered, the boy turned his face to Kid, "that's how you're moving like that."

The boy grinned slightly.

"Very good," he praised, he placed one foot in front of the other," too bad it's far too late for that."

Kid rushed the boy, who simply stood there.

Kid thrust a fist forward, the boy caught the fist and crushed Kid's fingers in an iron grip.

The boy reeled back his fist, it landed on Kid's jaw, Kid's vision blurred.

Another punch landed in his stomach, then a knee on his chest as he tucked over the blow.

The boy clenched his fist tighter and crossed Kid's cheek, blood spurted from between his lips, the boy backhanded Kid with his closed fist, blood escaped Kid's mouth once more.

**Inside Alexis' house.**

The sound of something striking a wall ripped Alexis from her fitful sleep.

The sounds of a fight lingered in the air, she quickly rose from her sheets and almost leapt to the window.

The scene outside was anything but welcoming, her friends were being beaten by someone.

Her grasp on Ko tightened, she ran for the front door of her house.

She burst through the door and staggered into the street.

The person smashed Kid in the face one final time, Kid slammed into the stone, blood had splashed the stone red.

At that moment she saw the boy's face.

"No, not you-" she stammered, her grip on Ko failed completely and he clattered to the ground.

She ran forward.

Soul pushed himself off of the ground, he turned to Maka.

"You alright?" he asked in a concerned tone.

She groaned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied, the pain on her face was evident.

She looked over to Kid, who was now on the ground, the boy stepped towards him, his foot raised.

"No, st-" Maka tried.

"STOP!" Alexis' voice called, everyone except for an unconscious BlackStar turned to look.

The boy halted his stomping of Kid's head to look as well, his foot hung in the air.

"DeathSmith stop," Alexis called, she skidded to a halt a meter away from him her arms were slightly raised in a defensive manner," you've made your point, whatever it was!"

Maka arched a brow, the image of DS in the court wall flashed through her mind.

"DS," she muttered under her breath," that means DeathSmith?"

DeathSmith pondered this for a moment, he looked down at the bloodied face of Kid, he looked back at Alexis.

DeathSmith's eyes returned to their ocean blue colour, he stomped his foot down, the ground itself shook.

Maka turned away for a moment, when she looked back she saw that he had crushed the stone beside Kid's head, though far enough away to not cause him any harm.

"Alright," he agreed, he stepped away from Kid," I'm in a good mood today."

He strode over to his things.

Alexis approached the downed Kid, she fell to her knees and rolled him onto his back.

He coughed and some drops of blood escaped his lips.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He blinked his eyes a few times, his left eye was slightly swollen .

"Never better." He huffed.

She smiled.

"It's not like you to be sarcastic." She joked, he laughed a little.

"Hey," DeathSmith called, her gaze rose to meet his, her smile turned into an almost frightened frown," I'll see you in a few hours."

He had already collected his things, he walked away from Alexis' house and soon disappeared down the road.

She gripped Kid's shoulder and hoisted him to his shaking feet, she rest his arm around her shoulder.

"C'mon, let's get you inside." She muttered as she acted as a crutch for him, Liz almost had to drag Patty after them.

Soul helped Maka to her feet, they both watched Alexis almost carry Kid into her house.

"Well they're on better terms," he stated," I guess that thing yesterday went well."

Maka looked at the two.

"Yeah, I guess it did." She muttered.

Soul nudged her shoulder.

"C'mon," he started, he began to walk towards Tsubaki," let's help her with BlackStar."

Maka moved towards the door, she noticed Ko was lying on the stone, she stooped to grasp him.

The second her gloved hand touched him, she felt strangely pained, she recoiled quickly, the pain subsided.

She saw no indication that anything had happened.

Alexis walked out.

"Thanks for trying." She said as she gripped Ko's handle, she walked in with Maka in tow.

It took them a few minutes to carry BlackStar into the house, Soul carried his arms while Tsubaki carried his feet, blood dripped from BlackStar's nose and mouth.

"Is there somewhere we can put him?" Soul asked.

Alexis pointed to the brown sofa in her living room.

"Put him there," she told them," I'll get the blood out later."

Soul and Tsubaki gingerly laid BlackStar out on the couch.

Alexis was wiping Kid's wounds down with a pale bluish salve, he twitched under her work.

"Ah, it burns!" he almost whined.

"Oh shut up," she laughed," do you know how hard it is to grow lavender in a desert?"

He shook his head.

"Then be quiet and appreciate this," she ordered," this will help with the healing."

She pressed a bandage to a cut on his cheek.

He soon sighed with relief when the salve took effect.

The swelling on his eye shrunk slightly and he could open it again.

"What is that?" Maka asked, she gestured to the salve.

"Oh just some sunned lavender, some alcohol and some time," she replied," it's good for the pain and for bruises."

"Sunned lavender?" Soul repeated.

Alexis simply pointed to the window in the room, he turned to see a jar on the sill.

It was filled with a few sprigs of lavender and also filled with what looked like water.

"Just put fresh lavender in a jar, fill the jar with a clear alcohol and leave it in the sun for three days," she explained as she made her way to BlackStar," it's really easy, I put crushed ice in it though so that it's easier to work with."

She crouched beside the unconscious student and began to wipe the salve over his bruises.

"You managed to get lavender to grow here that quickly?" Maka asked.

Alexis nodded.

"Yeah, but most of what I have was already growing and I just transferred them over there." She stated, she pointed to a large pot, it had many sprigs blooming out of it.

"Who would've thought you could do that?" Kid sighed as he pressed his back against the wall.

Alexis giggled.

"Well I'm nothing compared to-" she began, she trailed off.

She looked at her hands as the group turned to her.

"What is it?" Kid asked.

Alexis turned to him.

"Why was Tremor attacking you?" she asked.

Kid arched a brow.

"Tremor," Maka asked," I thought his name was DeathSmith."

Alexis shook her head.

"No that's not his name," she explained," it's the callsign he used when we were partners."

They all looked at her surprised.

"You two used to work together?" Tsubaki asked.

Alexis toyed with the phrase.

"Yes and no," she finally stated," he's like me."

The others were taken aback by this.

"You mean he's-" Maka tried.

"One of Greg's experiments," Alexis finished as she wiped the blood from BlackStar's face," yeah, but he's much better than me in a fight."

"How so?" Kid asked.

"Well for starters nothing rattles him," she laughed," but the main reason is he's a damn genius."

She turned to them.

"You know about the book of Eibon right?" she asked.

"Yeah, we know about it," Soul replied," why?"

"Well when DeathSmith was just a kid, Greg managed to get his hands on it and gave it to him," she explained," he memorised the entire thing in less than a day, it messed with his head a bit, but he's the best maker of magic tools bar none, I'd be surprised if he hadn't surpassed Eibon already."

Kid looked at her wide eyed.

"He memorised the contents of the book of Eibon when he was younger?" he asked.

She nodded.

"The thing is," she continued," that isn't the only thing of Eibon's he has."

They all eyed her warily.

"His soul isn't the only thing that Greg ripped apart," she stated," Greg managed to get Eibon's genetic data, data on his soul and a vial of his blood, take a guess who that experiment took place on."

"So your saying we have a kid Eibon running around," Soul asked, she nodded," great."

"Wait," Maka cut in," didn't Eibon disappear like centuries ago, we only just got to see him recently."

Alexis laughed.

"Greg has more influence over people than you give him credit for," she stated," his family has been around for a very long time, he's the only one who isn't dead."

Kid caught on to that last statement.

"He's still alive?" he asked.

She turned to him.

"Well, I like to think so," she stated, her voice honest," he isn't the kind of person to die of any reason."

"How could you talk about him like that," Maka asked in a harsh tone," he's the one that did this to you!"

Alexis looked at Maka.

"What he DID to me was for the best," she stated, this startled Maka," I'd be dead if not for him."

They all exchanged looks.

"So you uh," Kid began," you used to work with him?"

Alexis turned to him.

"Yeah," she confirmed," but there were others on our team."

Soul caught the last word.

"Team?" he repeated.

"Yes, in our team we had a leader, a medic, a watcher, a cleaner, support and a brawler." She explained.

"I don't know what a watcher or a brawler are." Soul stated.

She smiled at him.

"Well the brawler is exactly as it sounds," she began, she rose from her crouch and sat on a chair," it's the main force really, the one who is sent forward to handle the most enemies."

"And the watcher?" Maka asked.

"Well he was a bit of a scout, he had some," she started, she searched for the right words," needed abilities."

"Were you the medic?" Tsubaki asked.

Alexis laughed at her.

"What, no, I was the brawler, I'm not weak you know!" she laughed.

She stopped herself and looked at her hands.

"I-I shouldn't say that," she said," our medic was a destructive son of a bitch, he was the most far gone out of any of us."

They all looked at her.

"Far gone?" maka asked.

"The craziest of us," she corrected," his second job was the group torturer."

Maka swallowed hard at the thought.

"The worst thing about growing up," she began," was the fact that in order to join our group, you had to spend three hours locked in a cell with him, with all of his tools."

"Did you go through that?" Tsubaki asked.

Alexis raised the bandages on her stomach, other than the reddish scars from her fight with Kahl, the many slashes and stab wounds were healed over and almost faded.

She rolled up her pant legs.

She gestured to her arms and legs as well as her torso.

"Do you think I'm this bad in a fight?" she asked.

No one answered.

"So you let the craziest of you handle the most important job?" Maka asked.

Alexis gave her a look.

"He may have been crazy," she began," but if you've got a hole in your chest the size of a watermelon, there isn't a single person who you'd rather have by your side."

Everyone exchanged looks.

"Even those of us who have a form of healing need surgery every now and then." She finished.

"So what was this DeathSmith?" Kid asked.

"DeathSmith was our leader, he is still the most stable out of all of us," she explained," I've only seen him lose it once, but that was too destructive to even describe."

Maka cocked her head.

"How could this guy seem like he's more dangerous than you?" she asked.

Alexis laughed.

"That's because he is," she giggled," I don't know what father's thinking!"

She kept giggling for a few seconds, she stopped when she noticed Kid's face had changed.

"Oh," she stammered, she looked at her hands," right, sorry."

"It's alright." He stated.

Everyone exchanged looks as Kid and Alexis stared at each other.

"Alexis?" Maka called.

"Hm?" Alexis huffed.

"You were saying?" Maka prompted.

"Oh, right," Alexis stammered," anyway, he is more dangerous than me, well he's more destructive."

"How so?" Liz asked.

Alexis turned to her.

"Well, he may not have as strong of a nightmare wavelength," she began," but it's not that far off, besides he's strong enough to not need wavelengths for fighting, but he still does."

"What about the blindness?" Kid asked, Alexis turned to him surprised.

"So you found that out," she muttered, he nodded," it's a rare gift, only a few people have it, with me being one of them."

Everyone turned to her surprised.

"What?" she asked.

"You can do that too?" Maka asked.

Alexis shook her head.

"Not as well as he can, I still don't completely understand how it works yet," she replied," but that wavelength is the reason he's so dangerous, no one can even hope to keep up with him."

"What does it do?" Kid asked.

Alexis looked at him, she cocked a brow.

"You've never heard of the Grey Eye wavelength," she asked, everyone shook their head," well, to put it simply, you need a Grey Eye soul or part of one in my case, his soul is a genuine Grey Eye, which are very rare nowadays."

She turned to them.

"In our little group we had meister names depending on our abilities," she explained," Cutter our medic was the meister of pain, Echo our watcher was minds, Shroud our support was morals, Hush our cleaner was silence, I was fear."

She looked around once more.

"And DeathSmith our leader is the meister of reality." She finished.

"Reality?" Maka echoed.

"It's not very accurate I assure you," Alexis stated," but thanks to his soul, whenever he uses that wavelength, he can manipulate most things to his whims, moving them, crushing them, fixing them it doesn't matter what it is, he can do it."

"You said you could do this too?" Soul stated.

Alexis rose, she strode into her room, she returned with her cracked mask.

"This is the extent of my abilities with that skill." She said sadly as she turned it for them to see.

"But that thing was totally crushed," Soul stated," that's pretty good right?"

Alexis shook her head.

"Compared to him this is not even getting a speck of dust to move on a windy day," she explain," he could probably level the city if he wanted too and still be able to fight."

Kid shook his head.

"We've got to warn dad." He said.

Alexis returned from putting her mask back in her room.

She shook her head.

"Sorry, but that won't do any good," she stated," he's gone, and I mean GONE, he might as well have never set foot in the city before in his life, they won't find him, you might as well just wait for him to turn up again."

Kid shook his head.

"Well we must do something," he said," he could be working for witches or something!"

Alexis eyed him.

"Why would that be a problem?" she asked.

"Witches hate us." Soul explained, she nodded in understanding.

"Well there's a problem with that theory," she said, they all looked at her," his family was butchered in front of his eyes by witches, he hates them, if anything he's here on his own accord."

Tsubaki looked at the floor.

"Only he and his two brothers made it out." Alexis sadly added.

"Well that's bad." Maka stammered dumbly.

Alexis turned to her.

"Bad is getting crushed in battle, do you think I mean just a single household," she asked, she seemed to be getting upset," no, his entire remaining family were rounded up and slaughtered in front of his face!"

"What happened to those witches?" Soul asked.

She huffed in amusement.

"Let's just say that the local map had to be rewritten." She offered.

"Oh." Soul muttered.

"I've only ever seen him angry once," she restated," and that time I didn't even stay conscious for it, I just woke up in a massive crater."

They all exchanged looks.

"Are his brothers alive?" Tsubaki asked.

"I think so, I doubt Cutter and Hush would die on him." Alexis replied.

"Wait, his brothers were on this team of yours?" Soul asked, Alexis nodded.

"but that'd mean that-" Maka began.

"That Cutter tortured his brothers," Alexis finished," yeah, but Hush was able to last with just a few scratches, he's the best assassin in the world."

"I doubt that!" BlackStar shouted, he shot up from the couch." That's impossible 'cause I'm right here!"

Everyone looked at BlackStar surprised.

"Oh look," Liz muttered," he's alive."

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?!" he yelled.

He yelled at Liz some more, Alexis walked up to him, she spun him to face her.

"Please don't shout," she said in a sinister hiss," I'd hate to have wasted my medicine."

His eyes widened slightly.

"Uh, yeah sure." He managed, she patted his cheek.

"Good." She said, she pushed him back down to the couch and moved to the wall.

Everyone watched the ordeal with varying levels of interest, Soul stifled his laughter with a hand.

Soon everyone but BlackStar had a smile on their face.

"Are you guys all set to go?" Alexis asked.

Everyone turned to her.

"We've got class in less than half an hour." She explained.

Maka shot up, she looked to the clock, it was true.

"Damn," she breathed, she grabbed Soul's arm and pulled him towards the door," c'mon we've gotta go!"

Liz, Patty and Kid watched as BlackStar was led out by Tsubaki, he sighed.

"I guess it can't be helped," he decided, he rose as well," you coming?"

"In a little bit," Alexis promised," don't worry, I'll be there."

Kid seemed to accept this and strode out of the house, leaving Alexis to walk into her room to change.

**In Class Crescent Moon.**

Maka and Soul burst through the door, they both stopped to catch their breath, she looked at the clock.

"Good," she sighed," we're a bit early."

"Well I hope this day doesn't get any more uncool." Soul muttered as he followed Maka up to their seats.

They sat down, a few minutes later BlackStar and Tsubaki arrived with Kid in tow, everyone moved to their seats.

Right before the bell Alexis showed up, she was clad in all of her heavy clothing, she took her seat by walking over the tables again.

The bell rung, Stein took roll call, the clipboard snapped down on the desk and he wheeled out in front of the class.

"Before we continue," he said, he pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose," we have another new student today."

"Oh no." Maka breathed.

Stein turned to the door.

"You can come in." he said.

No one entered the door.

Whispers soon began to churn in the room.

Stein wheeled out to the door, he glanced into the hallway.

"Huh," he huffed, he wheeled back to the centre of the room," you can get off the ceiling now."

The red haired boy dropped a few feet away from Stein, his hands were tucked into his pockets again, his bare feet slapped the tiles, his long legs straightened.

DeathSmith looked over the class.

"Ok, not cool." Soul managed.

"Yeah," Maka agreed," how'd he get accepted?"

DeathSmith's gaze turned to Alexis, he shot her a smile, she shrunk in her chair.

"Take any seat that's empty." Stein said.

"Alright." The boy replied, he immediately moved to the empty space in the corner, not once taking his eyes off of the group, his smile looked like a challenge.

When he was seated Stein grabbed a scalpel.

"Ok," he said, he turned to the folding table he had placed aside, the wheels on his chair squeaked," let's get started."

**Author's Note: ****hey guys its Gorse.**

**This chapter took a little while to write, I don't know why though.**

**The chapter could have been a lot better, I know that, but I've rewritten about half of it just to get it like this without changing the basics, which I kind of like.**

**Anyway, explanations (yay) good, bad, horrible let me know.**

**I like that I based the fight between them and DeathSmith around the song Can't Hold Us, you've all heard it, I know for a fact that the fight looks better in my head than on paper, I know, there's just something that imaginary combat doesn't hold that actually seeing it does.**

**Ah, but this is my problem in writing this, I'll try to improve my combat in the future.**

**Formal over, now down to business.**

**I like DeathSmith's style a lot, I made it myself for the most part and yes, he's a character in my book, his fighting style is a tad more aggressive in this and he's more laid back in this, but other than that he's the same.**

**So now the veil is lifting on these people who have been shadowing our dear Alexis.**

**I just hope you can see what I was going for with this combat.**

**Anyway, see you next chapter, BYYEEE**

**-GorseT**


	8. Chapter 8

I love a good fight,

But a good meal suits me just fine,

A soul may be all I need to survive,

But a heart tastes better.

- Drake McClissey

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine.

Maka shrunk in her chair.

DeathSmith walked towards the corner of the room, his eyes never once left Maka for even an instant.

His show with dropping from the ceiling caused the entire room to look at him in return.

Maka noticed that he still wore all of his effects, including the curious cases on his long forearms.

She wondered what could be inside, his large book caught her eye, before it was loosely attached to a simple belt, it now had a small chain cross over it, keeping it shut.

Whispers continued around the room, the only ones not talking was the group, excluding BlackStar.

"That bastard," he hissed, his teeth gritted together," I'll get him, I swear it."

"Of course you will BlackStar." Tsubaki huffed.

Maka kept looking at the boy, he sat down with a bored look on his face, she noticed some of the girls in the room had their gazes linger on the boy, looks of jealousy flickered on the faces of some of the other boys.

DeathSmith stared at the blackboard, seeming to be un aware, he glanced at Maka, she turned away.

"Alright," Stein called, the room eventually got quiet," Let's get started.

Stein rolled over to a folding table he had set aside, a number of packages lay on the table, he used his scalpel to open them.

A random assortment of varied sizes of training weapons lay on the table.

"Today class," Stein began, he gripped a training sword, he turned it and placed it back down," we are visiting the basics, with a twist."

Everyone looked at him confused.

"Oh no." Maka muttered, she buried her face in her arms, she had a theory of where this was going.

"Today you'll learn how to fight without you're weapon partner," Stein explained, he grinned at the students," should be interesting to see how you fare."

Soul looked at Stein stunned, as did much of the class.

"This is a meister only class technically," Stein continued, he rolled back to the centre of his space," but you weapons will stay as moral support, hell, you may be able to participate in some places, those who'd like to participate, please join me down in the front of the class."

"What the hell?" Soul groaned, he leaned back in his chair so far his hair touched the workplace behind him.

"This will be our theme for the time being," Stein stated, a tone of warning was present," but we'll start with just some tests to see how good you all actually are."

He looked very amused at this last point, some of the students eyed each other uncertainly.

Stein looked at the students with a look of interest.

"This in reality is just a test to see who'll even do it," he thought to himself," but Lord Death did say it was alright if enough joined."

After a few seconds, the sound of two chairs pulling back was heard, Maka uncovered her face.

She wasn't surprised to see Alexis in front of her standing.

"So who's the other one?" she wondered, she looked around the room, much to her surprise, DeathSmith was standing as well, he and Alexis started moving at the exact same time.

Alexis reached the front of the class first, when DeathSmith filed in beside her she took an awkward stance, like a nervous girl trying to be around their crush.

The way Alexis shuffled away from him immediately shattered this though.

"She's terrified of him." Maka decided silently.

Soul nudged Maka's shoulder, she turned to him, he jerked his head towards the front of the class.

Before she could react, BlackStar leapt over his worktable and landed amidst Alexis and DeathSmith, who didn't even bat an eye.

Tsubaki slowly rose and meandered down.

Maka sighed and rose to her feet, she sadly made her way down.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself.

She stood next to Alexis, who turned to her shakily.

Kid, Liz and Patty arrived as well, they stood next to Maka and Soul.

Much to Maka's dismay, Dominic and Lin joined the group as well.

She groaned.

Before long Ox, Harver, Kilik, Fire, Thunder, Kim, Jacqueline and some others had joined, though more than half the class remained in their seats.

Stein looked over the remaining students and then gazed at those that were participating, his gaze lingered at Kid's roughed up face for a few seconds.

"No one else," he prompted, no one moved," alright then, I guess this group will suffice, follow me."

He rolled towards the door, the students followed him.

Before he could open the door, it swung open.

Spirit walked into the classroom.

He eyed Stein surprised.

"Stein, I thought you were busy," he said, he eyed the students behind Stein," what's going on, where are you going?"

Stein looked back at the students.

"We're going to the training room," he said frankly," I have some hands on teaching to do."

"Oh, alright." Spirit replied.

"Training room," Maka muttered," isn't that for other classes?"

Spirit heard Maka's voice.

"Wait," he stammered, he pointed at Maka," what's Maka doing going with you!?"

"She joined this little project as well." Stein stated.

"Bu-b-but I only took this substitution to see Maka!" Spirit cried.

"Oh man," Maka muttered, she looked away from Soul's snickering," that's embarrassing."

Stein patted Spirit's shoulder as he rolled past.

"Yeah," he started," have fun."

The group of students all filed past a glum Spirit, he eyed his feet.

Maka hesitated just outside the door, she cast one final look at her father.

He turned and saw this, she looked away and slowly turned back to the group.

"Bye Papa." She muttered as she left.

Spirit didn't move for the next ten minutes.

"Hey, Kid," Stein called, Kid moved up and filed next to Stein," what happened to your face?"

Kid looked back for answers, his gaze fell on Alexis, she shook her head.

"A fight." He said as he turned back to Stein.

Stein nodded thoughtfully, he noted the tone in Kid's voice and decided he didn't want to talk about it.

Fifteen minutes passed before they reached the training room, its large double doors seemed new.

Stein moved beside the doors, the group of students mobbed around him.

"As you all know," Stein began," some of the rooms were destroyed during the battle against Arachnophobia, we in turn had to rebuild some sections of the school."

He gripped a door handle and pulled it open.

"This is our new training room for the DWMA." He finished.

The door opened to a very large room, it was large enough to handle four sparring rings and their weapon shelves in each corner of the room.

Fight mats lay on the rest of the wood floor.

There obviously had been a plan at some point to include this layout as the wood flooring and walls had been put up in a relatively short time.

"Wow." Maka muttered, she was impressed.

"This is where we'll be meeting for the next few weeks," Stein stated," right now we'll start with something basic."

**After the class.**

"That was so uncool," Soul sighed," I mean, I'm glad we didn't do anything, but man, that was boring."

Even Maka had to agree, all Stein really talked about was what they were going to be doing.

But even so, she had a strange feeling.

"This is getting weird." She muttered.

He looked at her confused.

"How so?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious," Kid asked from beside him," both Alexis and this DeathSmith show up and they decide to change the style of class on the exact same day they're both in class for the first time, seems planned to me."

"Who cares," BlackStar asked," now I'll get a real chance to get back at him."

He clenched his fist in anticipation.

BlackStar noticed that DeathSmith was turning away from the rest of the students, BlackStar stopped the others with a hand.

"C'mon!" he ordered as he followed the boy, they all exchanged looks before moving to follow him.

Alexis saw this and moved to follow them.

They bounded from hiding place to hiding place, corners and doorways were filled with the pursuers.

DeathSmith walked down the lonely hallway, it seemed lonely anyway.

He was approached by a blond haired boy of a similar build, they began to talk.

"Who is that?" Maka asked.

"If I had to guess," Alexis began, they rounded a corner," it's one of his teammates, they're up to something."

"I thought you said he was here on his own." Kid stated.

Alexis turned to him.

"I said he's probably here for his own reasons," she reminded him, the group turned a corner," I never said by himself."

"So what are they doing here?" Soul asked, they turned another corner, the group moved forward.

"Hey, I'm in the dark on that too," She assured him," but I'd bet they already know we're following them."

They all turned to her, she waved their eyes away.

They neared the corner, when they rounded it, sure enough, there was DeathSmith alone, looking right at them.

"Why hello there fellow students," he said in a sarcastic tone," what can I do for you on this fine day?"

BlackStar stepped forward, he cracked his knuckles, everyone turned to him.

"We just lost to him," she thought to herself," and already BlackStar's looking for a rematch."

Alexis grabbed BlackStar's shoulder, she pulled him back towards the group.

She took a step forward, she took a ragged breath.

"What do you want?" she asked, he looked at her, his fake smile faded.

"I want to talk to you," he stated, he glanced at the others," alone."

A few moments passed.

She stepped forward, Kid reached for her arm.

"It's alright," she said, his grasp fell short," don't worry."

She followed him down the hall, they passed a corner.

After a few seconds, BlackStar strode forward.

"Hey BlackStar," Maka hissed," get back here!"

He reached the corner and looked around it.

"Great," he said, he crossed his arms over his chest and turned back to them," they're gone!"

"WHAT!?" Kid yelped, he ran up to the corner.

The empty hall seemed to be laughing at him, the others filed in next to them.

"Damn where'd they go?" Soul asked no one in particular.

"Damn it," Kid yelled," now what!"

Kid was getting angrier by the moment.

"What happened?" Alexis asked from behind them after a few seconds.

Everyone turned to her in surprise.

"Wha- where'd you go!?" Kid asked.

She spun her finger in the air.

"You guys never noticed that there's a circle of halls here," she asked," he led us in a circle, we just kept walking."

"Seriously!?" Soul asked, Alexis nodded.

"Man," Kid muttered, his hand rest on his face," he's making us look like idiots!"

"What did you two talk about?" Maka asked.

Alexis shrugged, her cracked mask cocked slightly.

"He wants my help on a mission." She replied.

They all stared at her.

"And?" Kid prompted.

"AND he asked me to keep it a secret," she stated, they looked annoyed," hey, the fact that I told you at all is too much."

Soul tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Fair enough." He said.

"Fair enough?" Liz repeated.

Kid nodded in understanding.

"I guess if we don't need to know then we don't," he said, his tone was strange, almost harsh, he walked past Alexis," but that'll only work so many times."

Alexis looked at her feet.

BlackStar shook his head and followed Kid.

"C'mon Tsubaki." He called.

When they were all gone, Maka exchanged looks with Soul, he shrugged.

They too moved to follow the others.

Before they could pass her, Alexis raised her arms to block them.

"Hey," Soul stammered," what gives?"

Alexis removed her mask and eyed them both.

"I'm allowed to tell you two." She stated.

They looked at her surprised.

"W-why?" Maka asked.

Alexis cocked her head.

"Isn't it obvious Girly," she asked, her grin was poorly hidden, Maka shook her head," it seems DeathSmith has an interest in you, he wants you to accompany us."

Both stared at her dumbfounded.

"When you're ready," she began, she slipped her mask back on," meet us at the front of the academy tomorrow."

She turned and began to walk away.

"Don't tell the others." She ordered before she passed the corner.

Soul and Maka both stood unmoving for a few minutes.

"C-c'mon let's get ready." Maka managed, she took a shaky step forward.

"Do we have to?" Soul moaned.

"Do you want to stay here?" she asked.

He thought for a moment.

"Not really." He admitted.

"Good 'cause," she started, she swallowed hard, her face gained some confidence and she managed a slow pace," we might learn something about this guy along the way."

"Is that really a good enough reason to just leave with him?" he asked.

She turned to him.

"Alexis seemed excited," she stated," there must be a reason for her to suddenly change her behaviour towards this guy."

She began to jog forward, Soul shook his head and did the same to catch up.

"This had better be worth it." He muttered under his breath.

**The next day.**

Maka and Soul were packed and on their way to the academy.

"Man," Soul muttered," I'm still worn out from yesterday."

Maka rubbed her head.

"Yeah me too," she muttered," just think what would've happened if he wanted to kill us."

Soul shook his head.

"If you keep thinking like that you'll drive yourself insane," he warned her, a smile broke over his face," again."

She turned towards him with a smirk.

They walked under, Echo and Shroud along their way.

The two stood on a roof, Shroud watched them with crossed arms.

"So he asked them to help," Shroud asked, Echo nodded from behind his mask," how foolish."

Echo was surprised by this.

"How is that foolish?" he managed.

Shroud shook his unmasked face, his clear skin was abnormally pale.

His t-shirt had a design almost identical to the one on his mask, with his pants having the exact oppostite of the shirt's design, the black swung while the white hugged his pale flesh, his blond, black tipped hair swayed in the wind.

His feet were bare as were his hands, he was missing his pinky finger on his left hand, his body had adapted and fused the clear cut bone into his hand, it almost looked as if he had never even had one in the first place.

"He never thinks in these situations," he replied," not about the mission anyway, only about his precious notes."

He spat on the roof, Maka and Soul began to mount the steps up to the academy.

"We should meet them there," he muttered, he walked past Echo, nudging him forward as he did so," try not to talk to them too much."

"R-right." Echo stammered, he followed Shroud.

They lazily leapt down and followed Maka and Soul up the steps.

Soul glanced back, he caught up to Maka.

"We're being followed." He warned her.

She nodded.

"I know," she assured him," I can't sense them, but I know they're there."

"What should we do?" he asked, she turned to him.

"They're probably just here to make sure we don't try anything," she said, she looked up the steps," we're past the point of no return."

Soul nodded and shifted his backpack's weight.

"They know that we're aware of them," she continued," but they aren't even trying to hide."

They reached the top of the staircase, two people strode past them.

He didn't get a very good look at them, but they seemed familiar.

"When'd they catch up?" Soul thought to himself, they were a ways behind them everytime he glanced back.

Soul felt his backpack get pulled from him as he was distracted, he saw the unmasked one walk past him, he had both of their backpacks hanging from one hand.

"Hey- give those back!" Soul tried, he stepped forward, the boy simply gave him a look, he turned to the other one.

"What'd they put in here Echo?" he asked, they masked one looked away from Soul and Maka, he fiddled with his gloved hands.

"Some clothes, some food and water-" he listed nervously, he guessed everything that they had put in the bags with no wrong answers,"- that's about it.

The unmasked one turned to Echo.

"Thanks," he said, he threw their bags at them," no weapons other than your partner, not even anything that could be of any use at all in a fight, man the students nowadays are so soft."

Maka stepped forward, Echo raised his palm to her, she focused her gaze on him, he seemed to cower under her eyes.

"What's wrong with this guy?" Maka thought to herself, or so she thought.

The heavily clothed Echo straightened slightly.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" he whined, Maka stared at him dumbfounded.

"H-he knew what I was thinking," she stated silently.

"Yes, I know what you're thinking." Echo assured her, she took a step towards him, he took a hurried step back.

"Who are you!" Maka almost yelled.

"Is that really necessary?" DeathSmith asked from behind the two boys, Maka looked past them to see Alexis and DeathSmith walking over to them, he seemed to notice her angry gaze," We are the Altered."

Maka refused to relax, the answer didn't put her at ease.

DeathSmith looked at Echo, he shook his head and patted the frightened boy's shoulder.

His gaze rest on the other boy, who gave him an indifferent stare.

"Any problems Shroud?" he asked.

The boy shook his head.

"Good," DeathSmith muttered," proceed as planned."

Shroud's eyes had black wriggle into his sclera, his almost white irises turned to a dark grey.

"Aye aye, sir." He scoffed sarcastically.

The boy's entire figure seemed to warp and change, he got ever so slightly taller, his hair lengthened slightly, red beamed through his hair.

His skin tone darkened barely a shade, his arms sprouted various scars, even his clothes changed, he now wore a black shirt with dark blue pants, a large leather bound book hung from his right side, two cases rested on his forearms and black, fingerless gloves took their place on his hands.

When his body stopped changing, he had eyes as blue as the ocean.

Maka blinked in disbelief at the second DeathSmith who crossed his arms over his chest.

"What's your name?" DeathSmith asked, the other looked at him with a bored expression plastered on its face.

"I have no name, come to know me better and the truth may not elude you." It stated.

The original DeathSmith clapped the copy on the shoulder.

"Very good, now go," he ordered, he waved the copy into the  
school, he watched it go," wait."

It stopped and turned to him.

The original raised the back of his left hand, he pointed at his shoe and wiggled his pinky.

"Oh right," the copy muttered in a perfect mimic of DeathSmith's voice, his pinky toe shrunk into his foot with a crunching noise and the bone of his missing finger moved, a new finger burst from the flesh, he clenched his fist a few times, he turned to the school and resumed his journey," goodbye."

The copy entered the school and everyone turned to one another.

"Who was that?" Soul managed, Alexis giggled.

"It turns out that my old team is still alive and kicking," she jerked her head towards the school," that's Shroud, our meister of morals, aka Face."

Maka shook her head.

"Is there anyone normal out of these people?" she asked herself, Echo turned to her still slightly hunched in a defensive manner.

"You're not so normal yourself." He stammered, Maka turned to him angrily.

Alexis put herself between Maka and Echo, who straightened a bit more.

"Sorry, but you can't hurt him," she stated," we need him, Shroud will run interference for us, but we need to move now."

The three Altered strode past Maka and Soul and began to walk down the stairs.

Soul groaned.

"And we just got up here!" he almost yelled.

Maka sighed but began to descend the steps, Soul grumbled to himself before following her.

**Outside of Death City.**

They had made it out of the city without a hitch, no one questioned their passing.

They walked through the sands of the desert in a seemingly random direction.

The group wasn't in any particular order as the Altered were almost huddled together with Maka and Soul in tow.

DeathSmith shielded his eyes from the sun, he reached into the backpack he was carrying and pulled out his heavy Parka.

He pulled it on and draped the hood over his face, the sleeves extended beyond his fingers.

Soul cocked his head.

"Isn't it a little hot for heavy clothing?" he asked.

DeathSmith glanced back at him.

"I don't want burns on my skin." He stated, Soul shook his head.

The walk continued in silence for some time, the sun moved in the sky, the midday heat washed over the sand.

Soul shielded his eyes from the sun.

"What are we doing?" he thought, he shook his head.

"We're on a mission." Echo stated.

"HEY!" Soul yelled, he pointed at Echo," Can you stop that, it's creepy!"

Everyone stopped and turned to Soul.

"Is there a problem?" DeathSmith asked.

"Yeah," Soul shot back," this guy keeps reading our minds, make him stop!"

DeathSmith shook his head, he turned and continued walking.

"C'mon, we have a lot of ground to cover before nightfall." He stated.

Everyone but Soul and Maka resumed their pace, they just looked at each other.

Maka shrugged and strode after them, Soul sighed and filed in beside her.

After a few minutes of silence Soul piped up again.

"So where are we going anyway?" he asked.

DeathSmith gave him a half glance.

"A town," he stated," it's about a day's walk if we keep this pace."

"And what are we doing there?" Soul inquired impatiently.

"We have a mission." DeathSmith replied, Soul sighed.

"What kind of mission?" he muttered sarcastically, he wasn't expecting an answer.

"A rescue mission." Came the response, he stopped and watched the Altered walk forward.

His face held a look of surprise and confusion.

"You keep stopping and this will take even longer." DeathSmith stated, it seemed to be a joke, but his voice was as cold as ice.

Soul found himself moving again.

They walked until the sun began to kiss the horizon, the moon peaked.

The Altered all stopped at the same time, Maka and Soul almost bumped into them.

"What are you doing?" Maka asked.

The Altered all dropped their bags on the sand.

"Resting." Alexis stated as she nestled into a dune of sand, her hood kept the sand at bay.

"For how long?" Soul asked.

"The - night." Echo managed, he brought out some strange contraption, he placed it in a small flat pit he quickly dug.

A few turns of a handle earned them light and heat, similar to a campfire, which was welcomed as the sun began to disappear.

"It's night time," Maka stated," you're doing this backwards, we should re-"

"We realise how you'd travel in a desert," DeathSmith stated harshly," but we don't function as you do."

Maka looked to Alexis for help.

"Poor Smith doesn't like the dark," Alexis cooed, she giggled," well, I guess none of us do."

DeathSmith turned to her, he flipped his hood down.

"Bite me." She huffed at his stare, he bared his teeth.

"You aren't moving because it's dark!?" Soul almost shouted, everyone looked at him." Aren't you stronger than tha-"

DeathSmith was in his face before he could finish.

"That isn't your concern," he hissed, his usual calm face was replaced with a cold almost hating scowl," now sit and be quiet!"

He shoved Soul to the sand, he didn't try to get back up.

Maka sat beside him.

"Hey Smith," Alexis called, he turned to her, she was sitting up now," I think you bumped something."

His head cocked to one side, she made a small circle with her fingers, she mimed turning a dial.

"Oh." He huffed.

He removed his heavy parka and laid it down on the sand, he reached behind his neck and under his shirt.

A few loud clicks could be heard followed by a sharp snap.

His angry face changed, it softened and returned to its "normal" stoic nature.

He turned to Maka and Soul with an apologetic bow.

"Sorry for my behaviour." He offered, he sat down near the artificial "fire" and looked into it.

Maka and Soul exchanged looks.

"What the hell?" Soul mouthed, Maka simply shrugged.

"So," Maka began, the sun was completely gone now," what's the plan?"

"We have that all figured out." DeathSmith stated.

"Yeah but," Soul started," shouldn't we be in on it?"

DeathSmith looked them over.

"Fine," he replied, he brought out a map and placed it in the light," the town's just over that dune a ways, it's full of cutthroats and murderers, but we aren't there for them."

"What are we there for?" Maka asked.

"The 'town' is really just a meeting place," Echo stated, he stayed in the shadows," two, three buildings if you count The Pit."

"The Pit?" Soul repeated.

"Yeah, it's their fighting ring," Alexis explained," they gather slaves and force them to fight each other."

"That's horrible!" Maka stated.

"There are two people in particular that we're here for," DeathSmith said," we'll point them out to you."

"How could this place even exist?" Maka asked she shook her head.

DeathSmith chuckled slightly, she looked at him.

"It exists because we let it," he stated, her sour look caused him to shake his head," I'm being serious, it exists for a reason."

"And that reason is?" Soul prompted.

"To get our targets this close to the city without public transport," DeathSmith replied," we planned this for months up to getting them enslaved and in the fights."

Maka looked at him as if he were insane.

"Wha- why!?" she almost shouted, she kept her voice down however.

"Trust us," Alexis demanded, she turned to DeathSmith for a moment," no offence Smith, but if they got on any form of transport-"

She trailed off.

"Let's just say that if one in particular got on a transport," DeathSmith corrected her," it'd be the largest bloodbath this desert had ever seen, and then we'd probably lose them."

"This is a rescue mission right?" Maka asked, DeathSmith nodded."So why are they pretending to be slaves?"

"We put them in this position because it's what they chose to do." He stated.

"Why would anyone choose to be enslaved to fighting innocent people." Soul inquired, this earned him a laugh from DeathSmith.

"Do you really want to know?" he simply asked, Soul nodded." My brothers."

The answer caught both Maka and Soul off guard.

"Cutter almost jumped at the chance to spill some blood," DeathSmith explained, he sighed as if he recalled a fond memory," he always was the simple one."

"So th-" Maka tried.

"Yes," Alexis cut in," Cutter and Hush are our targets."

"The good news is they're scheduled to fight tomorrow," Echo explained, he had melted into the darkness by now," when Cutter is fighting we will begin."

"So," Soul huffed, annoyed," what's the plan!?"

"The plan is for you two to watch," Alexis beamed, her wide grin shone menacingly in the light," when the fun begins."

Soul sighed explosively, Maka eyed the contraption in the small pit.

"Echo," DeathSmith called, Echo reluctantly moved into the light," give them their disguises."

Echo rustled through his pack and retrieved two sets of heavy parkas and pants, he gingerly layed them out on the sand.

"What are these?" Maka asked, the clothes were identical to the clothes the altered wore.

"You are now temporary additions to our little group," Alexis stated happily," those will be your uniforms for the time being."

"Right," Soul huffed," and why are we wearing these?"

"You don't look the part," Echo's voice explained, he once more was hidden in shadow," you look like students, not like the people that come to these places."

"You'll blow our cover if you go in like that," DeathSmith agreed," and we can't have that."

"You should change now while we still have the chance," Alexis stated, they looked at her," well if you want to change while we can see you."

She eyed the back of her gloved hand, both Maka and Soul looked at her surprised.

"We can't see in the dark," DeathSmith stated," she's right, we know how you normal people love  
your-"

He trailed off and shifted onto his elbows he seemed to be searching for the right word.

"Privacy," He finished as he nestled into position," we're going at first light, the faster you get this over with the faster you can get some sleep."

Maka and Soul eyed each other defeated.

"I'll go first," Soul huffed, he rose with the clothes in his hands," man this is so uncool."

He strode into the overwhelming dark, after some muffled sounds of changing, he walked back into the light, he sat back down, he placed his other clothes into his bag.

"They're even my size," he commented as he sat back down, he ran his now gloved hand over the large, brown sleeve," nice."

"We wouldn't want you uncomfortable now would we?" Alexis joked.

Maka sighed, she rose and entered the darkness.

After slightly a longer amount of time than Soul, she strode into the light, clad in her disguise.

She put her clothes in her bag and sat back down.

"Good," DeathSmith huffed," now that we're all ready-"

He reached into his bag and handed them two large, flat packages wrapped in cloth.

"Here are your masks," he started as they unravelled the plain white masks," there aren't any designs, but those must be added by you."

"Ok," Maka sighed," why the masks?"

Alexis huffed in amusement.

"We've been here a number of times," she explained," if we show up with a few people that aren't like us they'll get suspicious."

"Just leave the talking to me," DeathSmith ordered, his gaze shifted from one to the other," alright, just follow our lead and you'll both be fine."

He reached at their light source, he grasped it, the light dimmed, but it lingered enough for them to see, its heat continued to wash over them.

"Now get some sleep," He continued," we have work to do tomorrow."

**Author's Note: ****hey guys it's Gorse.**

**Man this chapter is so bad.**

**DAMN FILLER, am I right.**

**Honestly, filler is the hardest part of any story to write.**

**I hate myself for cutting it there, I really do, but I just thought that that is as far as this chapter needed to go.**

**Now, down to the important stuff.**

**This chapter, it has weird pacing, I know, a strange path, I KNOW.**

**I'm doing this for a reason, just... trust me on this.**

**Any who, soon Cutter and Hush will make their bloody good reveal.**

**Imma looking forward to it.**

**And ooh, Shroud and Echo have some interesting abilities, yay.**

**Trust me, I this will make sense in the future, I promise.**

**This was planned.**

**And yes I know that Alexis is being a bit schizophrenic, she's supposed to be.**

**Yes DeathSmith has some currently unknown thing going on with his emotions, this is also supposed to be this way. **

**Don't worry this will all be explained in the next couple chapters.**

**If you hated this chapter just let me know, I totally understand.**

**If you think this is moving too quickly just tell me, though if you watched the actual anime you'd probably be used to things going too fast. (I'm kidding)**

**Just some warning, Cutter is my most brutal character I've ever made.**

**Actually, no he's not, the character he's based off of is, but I made them too.**

**Be prepared for some graphic fake gore as my dark side does love bloody violence. **

**I can't wait for the next chapter to come out.**

**Btw my internet has been in the ER flatlining for a little while, it gave me the time to finish this but I had other things to do also.**

**It can do this at any time so just be prepared for scarce updates.**

**Well I think that's enough, see you next chapter, BYYEEE.**

**-GorseT**


	9. Chapter 9: the reunion

Let's get one thing clear,

I HATE everything.

Except for violence,

Violence is important to me.

-Drake McClissey

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

**In Class Crescent Moon.**

Kid fidgeted in his chair.

"Why are we back in the classroom?" he asked himself.

About thirty minutes earlier the class had arrived at the new training room, only to find a note from Stein instructing them to head to the classroom.

It detailed something about a substitute for the class.

Strangely, only the people who were participating were now in the classroom, the other students were nowhere to be found.

He looked to the side, Liz and Patty were looking around, they seemed oblivious to the strangeness of the situation.

Spirit was sitting at the front desk, he was fiddling with his hands.

"Why are we getting a substitute if DeathScythe is already here?" Kid wondered." More importantly, who are they?"

He turned to BlackStar and Tsubaki, BlackStar was asleep while Tsubaki was trying to wake him.

"As helpful as always," Kid muttered, he turned back to Spirit, who seemed about to fall asleep himself," what's going on?"

He turned once more.

"What do you think is going on Maka?" he asked.

Maka seemed startled by the question, she laid the spine of the book she was reading on the worktable.

"What do you mean Kid?" she asked.

"I think he's asking about the sub." Soul muttered, he was leaning back in his chair.

Kid was surprised by Soul's comment.

He was right.

"Well, yeah," Kid managed," I was wondering about the substitute."

"I dunno," Maka admitted," it seems strange sure, but is it really that important?"

Kid caught on to her last comment.

He looked at Spirit once more.

"No, I guess not." He muttered.

He looked at the chalkboard.

"Something's-" he thought to himself," off about those two today."

Maka resumed her reading, Soul rest his head on the workplace behind him.

Kid shook his head slightly.

A tall woman strode into the class, a lot of students turned their attention to her.

She wore sleek sunglasses that covered her eyes.

Her grey hoodie and sweatpants seemed out of place, Kid noticed she wore no shoes.

Her hood covered her hair, though a few ginger strands sprung from under the fabric.

The woman walked over to Spirit, they exchanged words, curiously he didn't seem to flirt with her.

"Who is this?" Liz asked.

Spirit rose from his chair, he waved to Maka and strode out.

Kid turned to Maka, much to his surprise she was done reading and looking right at Spirit.

It was her expression that caught him off guard.

It was calm and normal, not annoyed and angry like the other times her father showed affection towards her.

Kid looked at the newcomer, she pulled her hood back.

"Hello class," her cheerful voice beamed, she waved her long ginger hair out of her hood, it swayed until it reached her thighs," My name is Elizabeth, I will be your substitute for the next few classes."

Kid recognised her, though it took quite a lot of thought, she was one of the teachers for almost all other classes, almost.

She had never even set foot in an EAT classroom if he had remembered correctly, she was just a trainer.

From his seat, something on the left of her neck caught his attention.

The black elongated eye tattoo seemed to stare back at him from under the folded hood, it had three tendrils wriggling up her neck and over her left jaw, they stopped at the same height as her nose, but never left her cheek.

On her right cheek he saw a stitching from her cheekbone to under her hair, it seemed similar to Stein's stitching, but he couldn't tell if it was real or not.

She seemed to look right at him from under her sunglasses.

"What is she doing here?" he muttered under his breath.

"Some of you may know me," Elizabeth stated," but I believe most of you don't have a clue who I am."

She took a short bow.

"I hope we can become better acquainted in the days to come." She said in a sweet voice, she smiled at the class.

"Her smile is either real or she is a tremendous actor." Kid thought to himself.

Her hand gestured towards the door.

"Shall we go?" she prompted, the participants of the class exchanged looks, but nonetheless they began to make their way over to the door.

Kid's gaze never once left the sub, curiously, she stopped Maka and Soul from leaving.

He attempted to stop, a hand pushed him forward.

He looked at the face of DeathSmith.

"That isn't any of your concern." The boy seemed to hiss.

Kid looked forward.

"Where's Alexis," shot through his mind," if he's still here why is she gone?"

He cast one final look at Maka, Soul and the sub.

The sub made a gesture towards the door, it slammed shut obstructing his view.

He looked at it surprised.

"Wasn't she at the desk?" he asked himself.

He lagged behind, DeathSmith was nowhere to be seen.

He watched the door, after a few minutes it opened, the sub followed by Soul and Maka strode out.

Everything seemed normal, but that was the problem.

"What the hell is going on with them?" Kid asked himself, he pushed himself away from the wall, he moved to follow the other students.

**Outside of "The Town"**

Maka blinked awake or as close to it as possible.

She rose to her feet gingerly, she stretched out, her joints cracked.

She looked at the Altered, they were all sitting away from her and Soul, they were looking into the sky.

"Finally awake are we?" DeathSmith mused, he turned to look at her," Wake up your partner, we leave in ten."

"Uh," she stammered, she nodded," r-right."

She moved over to Soul, who was sprawled out on the sand, she shook him a few times, he stirred.

"Oh man," he groaned as he sat up," remind me to bring something to sleep on next time."

He brushed the layer of sand from his heavy clothes and stood up.

He turned to the Altered.

"When are we going?" he asked.

Alexis turned to him.

"Ten minutes." Came the answer.

"What about breakfast?" he asked.

DeathSmith laughed.

"You want to eat?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Is that a bad thing?" Soul asked.

Alexis giggled into her gloved hand.

"I don't think he knows what he's getting into," she managed," what's the point of eating if you're just going to throw it up later?"

"Who says I'm going to throw up?" he shot back.

Even Echo was getting laughs in.

"How can you not know?" Echo chuckled to himself.

"Not know what!?" Soul almost yelled, Echo seemed to cower from his voice.

The Alexis and DeathSmith looked at the scared Echo, they turned to Soul.

"We're going to watch a bloodbath that's what." DeathSmith almost spat.

"What?" Maka asked.

"Haven't you been paying attention to the plan," Alexis asked," we're going to wait for the right moment to begin, so we're going to watch."

Maka and Soul looked at each other.

"You can eat if you want," DeathSmith stated," but if I were you I'd go in on an empty stomach."

DeathSmith took a swig from a flask, as did the other Altered.

Soul sighed heavily.

Maka simply shook her head.

"How are we even here," Maka muttered," won't the others find out?"

Alexis heard this and chuckled.

"Don't worry, Shroud has us covered," she said, she drank from her black flask," they won't even notice you're gone."

Maka and Soul exchanged looks.

Time crawled by, eventually Soul felt the ten minutes would never come.

DeathSmith clicked a pocket watch shut, he tucked his silver flask into a pocket and rose at the same time as the other Altered.

They began to walk past Maka and Soul.

Soul rose, his hand stopped DeathSmith from moving, DeathSmith eyed him.

"You want our help?" Soul asked, DeathSmith blinked the question away," We do this, you tell us what the hell is going on!"

Soul and DeathSmith stared at each other for what felt like forever.

A smile broke over DeathSmith's face.

"Alright." He agreed in a friendly tone.

Soul was taken aback.

"Wait, wha-" he stammered," just like that?"

DeathSmith nodded.

"Yeah, you help us and we may even become friends." He offered, he pushed past Soul and slipped his mask on.

Soul stared at the boy as he walked away from him.

A hand on his shoulder caused him to turn, Maka's face filled his view, her mask was in her hand.

"C'mon, let's go." She stammered, she almost pushed him forward.

He sighed and put his clear white mask on his face.

"This had better be worth it." He muttered before moving to follow the others with Maka in tow.

They walked over the large dune, a few buildings could be seen in the distance.

"Long walk." Maka muttered.

Soul sighed.

It took almost an hour to reach The Town.

The group was now in one mob of people, the masks scanned the area.

There was a store of sorts made from one of the three wooden buildings, the owner seemed to glare a them from over the counter, a variety of cold beverages were filed into fridges behind him.

The second building was slightly larger than the store, though they couldn't see inside of it.

As they neared the largest building, cheers could be heard.

The large man standing out front eyed them.

He wore a hood over his head, his tanned face was obstructed by a cloth, his black jacket and pants covered every speck of flesh.

They stopped a few feet from this person, he looked them over.

DeathSmith raised his right, gloved hand, he pulled the glove enough for the man to see the eye tattooed to his palm, he flipped his hand to show him the second eye on the back of his hand.

The man's expression softened slightly, he jerked his head towards the door.

Much to Maka and Soul's surprise, the man left his post, he walked off in a random direction, into the sands of the desert.

Before they could ask, the others had pushed the doors open.

This building was large enough for large sparring ring that was set below ground level in the sand.

The rest of the building was filled with a random assortment of people.

They people were cheering as loud as they could.

The group moved towards the ring, the walls of which were lined to the ceiling with a chainlink fence.

When they could see inside the ring, Maka saw that a fight was going on between two men.

The larger man punched his opponent in the face, blood splashed into the sand.

The smaller man fell, his bloody face was swollen and beaten.

He didn't get back up.

The crowd roared in approval, someone strolled out and dragged the loser out of the ring.

Maka now saw that the ring had two waiting areas, one was filled with a various selection of people, the other was empty.

A bell was rung by a man on an elevated platform, he was dressed in fancy clothes, his pale skin seemed out of place, he waved a person out of the waiting area.

DeathSmith pointed at one of the people in the room.

"There he is." He stated.

Maka and Soul followed his gaze to the black haired boy.

He almost looked identical to DeathSmith except his hair and his eyes.

His right eye was as red as blood, his left shone gold.

He looked as if he didn't stand a chance of winning.

He simply looked at his hands, while the other people in the room were pumping themselves up.

He almost looked bored.

Maka noticed he was wearing a thick bracelet on his right wrist. Bandages covered the flesh of his right arm.

A bandage covered his left cheek, to his earlobe.

"Really," Maka muttered, she turned to DeathSmith," that's your brother?"

The masked boy nodded.

"The other should be around here somewhere, aha," DeathSmith muttered, he pointed to one person who was standing on the other side of the ring," there."

This one had white hair with silver lancing through the white, he looked rather young despite this.

His pale flesh stood out, he wore a grey tuxedo with a white under shirt, his white gloves hid his hands.

He was looking at the fight now taking place, he seemed to be studying it.

"Okay so," Soul began," now what?"

"Now," Alexis repeated, she huffed in amusement," we wait."

The fights continued, every time the tank of a man won, during the fights Maka got to see his face.

His shirtless torso was covered in muscles and healed scars, he stood a head taller than everyone he faced, his shaved head twisted as he cracked his neck.

His chiseled face had a ring pierced into his nostrils, he roared at his opponent as he walked onto the sand.

"Why would they do this," Maka asked," it's obvious they're going to lose against him."

"People do strange things for money and power," Echo mused, Maka was surprised by his tone, despite being surrounded by people, he seemed almost calm," this is nothing."

Maka looked back down at the ring.

The small man crossed the tank's chin.

"That big one is the house champion," DeathSmith explained," he's never been beaten, not once."

Maka watched as the large man punched his opponent in the stomach, the smaller man flew into the chainlink, blood poured past his lips.

The champ took one step forward, he grabbed his opponent's head and twisted it sharply, the crack was heard over the roar of the crowd.

Maka stared in disbelief as the champ simply threw the dead man to the side, his crumpled body landed in a heap.

This time, the black haired boy was pushed forward, much to Soul's surprise, he was as tall as the champ.

He nudged Maka's shoulder, her gaze never once left the body of the man who was being dragged out of the ring.

Soul noticed this.

"Even with the mask on I can see she's freaking out," he thought," this isn't a place for her."

Before he could voice this, DeathSmith placed a hand on his shoulder.

His mask jerked towards the ring.

"Now we watch," he stated, his voice almost made Soul shudder," it's about to begin."

Cutter had no idea that they were in the stands, he wasn't looking either.

He strode out into the sand of the ring, he looked at his opponent.

He shook his head disappointed, this wasn't going to be much fun.

The fight began, Maka now had her attention fixed on the boy in the ring.

He seemed handsome in a strange way, he wasn't overly muscled, but his bare chest and stomach showed that he wasn't weak either.

He still looked like he had no chance in winning this fight.

She began to feel sorry for this boy as he stood almost eye to eye with the man she had witnessed kill a number of people in almost no time at all.

Despite the overwhelming odds, the boy seemed - bored.

His half lidded eyes closed as he shook his head.

The bell rang.

The large man thrust his fist forward, the blow threw the boy into the chainlink he slumped to the ground.

He spat out some blood, but rather quickly rose to his feet, he cracked his neck.

The champ punched him in the gut, then crossed his cheek.

The boy was thrown into the sand.

He rose to his feet, a drop of blood escaped his lips.

"He's not even trying to fight!" Maka thought to herself.

The large man grabbed the boys throat, he lifted him from his feet.

The boy grabbed the champ's hand, he broke one of the larger man's fingers with a sharp pull, the champ slammed him into the chainlink.

The champ punched him in the gut and dropped him, his foot landed on the boy's chest, he hit the sand.

The champ stomped on the boys head, he kicked the boy in the stomach.

The champ turned away and eyed his broken finger, he obviously thought the boy was done.

DeathSmith raised what looked like a detonator, he thumbed the button.

Cutter rose to his knees, he wiped the blood from his face.

His bracelet clicked, he eyed it surprised, it unlocked and fell to the sand.

He searched the crowd, his gaze soon fell on the group of masks looking down at him.

He grinned his sharp teeth, his left eye began to burn.

He held his left eye, blood leaked from under his palm.

"About time." He chuckled as he rose.

Maka saw the boy's bracelet fall, she also saw him look right at them.

His face had a large menacing smile crack over it, the boy held his left eye.

She soon noticed blood rolling out from under his hand.

"His eye is bleeding," she thought to herself," well I guess that's not too surprising."

The boy stood straight, he yelled at the champ, who turned with a face of rage.

The champ ran towards him, the distance was closed in one long stride.

The boy ducked beside the champ's fist, he smiled at the man.

His hand fell from his face.

Red had crept into the gold of his left eye, it looked like someone had flicked blood onto the gold, his pupil was elongated, like a cat's.

The boy punched the champ in the stomach, much to Maka's surprise the champ coughed up blood onto the boy's face.

"Oh Cutter," DeathSmith sighed," you couldn't keep it clean could you?"

Maka turned to DeathSmith.

"That's Cutter?" she asked, DeathSmith nodded, she looked back down into the ring.

Cutter wrapped his arm around the champ's neck, he pulled his hand out of the champ's belly, blood coated his fingers.

Cutter reeled back and head-butted his opponent, whose nose crumpled into his skull, a dent formed in the large man's skull.

The champ fell backwards, he landed in the sand.

The cheering stopped.

Cutter pushed him out of the centre of the ring with almost no effort, the large man didn't resist.

The boss desperately looked for an answer as to what had happened, finally he waved the remaining five slaves out of the waiting room.

They strode out with a varied amount of enthusiasm.

Cutter turned to them, no one in the building made a sound.

DeathSmith looked across the room, there the white haired boy was looking at him.

Hush gave him a sarcastic salute with two fingers.

Cutter was approached by one of the slaves, he quickly slammed his knee into the man's chest, the man flew back, blood shot from his lips.

Another slave rushed forward, this one crossed Cutter's cheek and punched him in the gut.

Cutter barely blinked, he grabbed the man's arm, he stooped and punched the man's knee, which gave way.

As the man fell Cutter rose, he twisted and elbowed his opponent's jaw, the bone visibly shattered and his neck snapped back.

The body fell to the sand.

A third rushed forward, Cutter twisted on his foot, his inner knee wrapped around the man's neck.

Cutter's body seemed to twist unnaturally.

Cutter looked into the eyes of the remaining two fighters as he roughly closed his leg around the man's neck, the bones snapped and the man's arms hung limp, Cutter let that body fall as well.

One of the two fighters wasn't feeling very confident, he shook noticeably, the other ran forward.

Cutter's arms swiped the man's abdomen, the flesh separated.

He screamed in agony.

Cutter pushed the cut man onto his back.

His sharp teeth flashed, he opened his maw and bit the man's shoulder.

Maka turned away, Soul however couldn't stop looking, his wide eyes were hidden by the mask.

The dead man hung from the teeth on his neck, the flesh was stripped to the broken bones as Cutter feasted.

The final fighter whimpered, Cutter's head rose, he turned to the man, his crazed smile cracked from ear to ear.

He slowly strode over to the man, who slumped to the ground.

A gunshot was heard, everyone's attention lay on Hush, who held a jet black pistol, it was about five times as large as a normal handgun, it's magazine jutted from the bottom.

Even Cutter turned his head.

The air hung heavily.

" ." Hush ordered as he raised a second pistol. "NOW."

Everyone ran for the door, this obviously had gone too far for them.

The boss jumped from his platform, he was stopped by DeathSmith, who placed a blade on his neck.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

Maka and Soul searched around for Alexis and Echo, but they had disappeared.

Maka was bumped by the fleeing people, she was soon on the floorboards, she was trampled, her right shoulder popped from its socket she yelped it pain, she felt hands grasp her and pull her up, her vision was filled with Soul's mask.

"At least he's here for me." She thought as she held her shoulder, it felt like someone had forced broken glass into her shoulder.

Soul managed to get her away from the crowd, she winced when he leaned her against the fence.

The crowd vanished a few seconds later, the air returned to its silent state, almost.

The sound of someone eating caught Maka's attention, she looked back into the ring, she immediatel regretted the act.

In the ring was Cutter, he had an arm in his hands, he was ripping the flesh from it with his teeth.

Soul forced her to look away from the red sand filled ring.

The bodies looked like pulped meat rather than something that used to be alive.

"Don't look." Soul ordered, she barely managed to obey.

Soul sighed heavily.

A loud crash caught his attention, he turned to see Cutter had smashed out of the ring, blood dripped from cuts on his arms, Soul eyed the chainlink.

He saw that on the inside of the ring there was razor sharp metal fastened to the fence.

He looked back at Cutter, who was sizing up the boss of this establishment.

DeathSmith waved Cutter away, who saw Maka and Soul, his expression changed.

Cutter shot forward, he was in their faces before they could react, his black hair was dripping red.

"I don't recognise these two," he hissed, he eyed their masks, he turned to DeathSmith, who had left the boss with Hush," brought some snacks did you?"

"No," Alexis replied from behind Soul, he glanced behind him to see that Alexis and Echo were there," they're with us."

Cutter hissed at Alexis.

"You're no fun." He stated.

DeathSmith snapped a thick collar onto Cutter's neck, he turned the dial a few times.

Cutter straightened, his mouth agape.

His left eye bled, the red was purged from the gold with every second, his pupil shrunk to a circle once more.

He cracked his neck and stood up straight.

He looked around.

"Oh," he muttered, his voice was now calm and collected," what happened?"

He walked over to Hush, who handed him a brown parka.

Maka ripped her mask from her face.

"What the hell just happened!?" she hissed.

DeathSmith crouched beside her.

"We got them back." He replied.

Cutter was talking to Hush now, Hush pointed at Maka and Soul, Cutter followed his gaze.

His face changed to that of surprise.

He strode back over and pushed DeathSmith out of the way, he now wore his heavy clothes.

"Get that parka off." Cutter ordered as he crouched beside her.

She looked at his face.

"What!?" she almost yelled, she pushed herself away from him, he raised his hands defensively.

"Your shoulder's dislocated," he explained, he turned to Alexis," get her something to bite, I should have something in my stuff."

Alexis nodded and turned to go.

"C'mon Echo." She called, Echo moved to follow.

Cutter began to unzip Maka's parka, Soul slammed into him, his arm turned into a scythe.

Soul rested the blade on Cutter's stomach.

"Don't touch her." Soul hissed.

Cutter looked at him.

"Well, you obviously know how to relocate a shoulder," Cutter mused, he pushed Soul's blade away from him," without pinching off any blood vessels, of course."

Cutter gestured towards Maka.

"Be my guest." Cutter ordered, he stared into Soul's eyes.

DeathSmith grabbed Soul's shoulder and pulled him away from Cutter.

"One second Cutter." He muttered.

Cutter clasped his hands together.

"It's not like we have someone in pain right now," he replied sarcastically," take all the time you need."

DeathSmith spun Soul around, he ripped the mask from Soul's face.

"What are you doing?" DeathSmith asked.

"He's not touching her!" Soul stated angrily.

"Who's going to fix her shoulder?" DeathSmith aked him," you?"

Soul searched for an answer.

"You can." He tried.

DeathSmith shook his head.

"Cutter is the one who handles that," he replied," he can do it properly."

Soul looked at Maka, who shook her head.

"Cutter is fine," Alexis stated, she strode over to Cutter, she handed him a small column of wood," he's not crazy anymore."

"I take offence to that," he mused with a smile, he accepted the wooden bar," thank you."

Everyone turned to Soul.

"How is he not crazy?" Soul asked.

Cutter tapped his collar.

"Leash." He muttered.

"What?" Soul asked.

"That collar keeps him sane," DeathSmith explained," it's fine, he's fine."

Soul thought for a few seconds.

"It's ok Soul," Maka assured him," really."

"Fine," he yelled, he pushed DeathSmith away," whatever!"

Cutter bowed slightly.

"Thank you," he said, he crouched on the right of Maka," now let's begin."

Cutter turned to Soul.

"It's Soul right," he asked, Soul nodded," well Soul, if you wouldn't mind helping me."

Soul sighed and moved beside Maka.

"Remove her parka," Cutter ordered, Soul unzipped the heavy clothing," alright now, lift."

Soul and Cutter lifted Maka enough for Alexis to pull the parka out from under her.

"Ok, let's lay her on her back," Cutter began, they lifted Maka from her sitting position, they lay her on her back, she winced with almost every shift," sorry, now-"

He trailed off.

He moved the wooden bar in front of her mouth.

"Bite on this." He ordered.

"What for?" Soul asked.

"So she doesn't bust her teeth," Cutter replied annoyed, he turned back to Maka," now bite."

Maka gripped the bar in her teeth, Cutter moved to the side, a black thread wrapped around the wood, he raised her head and moved the thread around her head and to the other side, where he looped it a few times.

"Alright," Cutter sighed, the thread seemed to disappear up his sleeve.

He pointed to Maka's left shoulder and arm.

"Place your hands here and here," he ordered as he did so, Soul gingerly obeyed," and put some pressure on it, can someone get her feet?"

Alexis moved, she crouched and wrapped her hands around Maka's boots, holding them in place.

"Ok," Cutter sighed, he grabbed Maka's right forearm, he leaned forward and eyed her shoulder," it's behind the socket so I'll have to pull."

He shifted back into position.

"On three, ok?" he stated, Maka and Soul both nodded," put pressure on her shoulder, we don't want her springing up."

Soul nodded.

"Ok," Cutter sighed, he tensed slightly," one-"

He pulled and twisted Maka's arm, it snapped back into place with a loud crack, she screamed as her teeth bit into the bar in her mouth.

Soul struggled to keep her down as she tensed.

After about a minute she stopped, she calmed down.

Cutter looked at her shoulder with interest.

"No vessels blocked," he muttered, he sat on the floor," alright, good job everyone."

"Why'd you do that!?" Soul shouted.

Cutter turned to him.

"Do what, pull at one," he asked," the worst part about this is knowing it's going to happen, so I skipped the countdown, it hurts less."

Cutter moved for the bar in Maka's mouth, he unraveled the thread and removed the bar.

They gave her some room, she gripped her shoulder.

"Alright," Cutter mused, he rose to his feet," where are we going?"

"Death City." Alexis replied.

"Ooh," he started," home of Lord Death himself, a real honor."

Soul helped Maka into a sitting position.

"You ok?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She winced.

Cutter handed her a sling, she eyed it.

"It would probably be best if you wore this." He said seriously.

Soul swiped the sling from his grasp.

"Thanks." He almost spat, he turned back to Maka and began to hook the sling over her neck.

After a few minutes the sling was in place and adjusted.

Soul helped her onto her feet, Alexis handed them Maka's parka.

Maka was soon dressed in her parka, her right sleeve hung limp.

She grabbed her mask and slipped it back on.

DeathSmith handed Soul his mask, he eyed it.

"So what do we do with this guy?" Alexis asked, she looked at the boss.

Hush raised a pistol, two rounds soared through the air and knocked the man to the ground, one in his neck the other in the back of his head, a black liquid oozed from the shots.

"What guy?" Hush asked, he spun his guns in his hands, they burst like balloons filled with black ink, the ink stained gloves, the black crept up his sleeves.

Soul watched the ordeal with wide eyes.

"The hell was that?" he thought to himself.

DeathSmith shook him from his thoughts.

"C'mon," he called as he pulled Soul to the door," we need to talk."

"About what?" Soul asked.

The others moved towards the door as well.

"The truth." DeathSmith replied.

**At the academy.**

Kid watched the lesson with interest.

"This Elizabeth seems to know her stuff," He muttered as the sub retaught a meister how to swing a sword," I guess that's a given though."

The sub's neck twisted, the black eye stared at him for a moment before it "blinked" as he referred to the sub turning away from him.

"No symmetry at all," he hissed silently," it's sickening."

Liz noticed his expression.

"Well look who's finally back to normal." She laughed.

He turned to her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Ever since Alexis showed up you've been acting-" she tried, she searched for the right word," normal."

He chuckled.

"Are you worried about me?" he joked.

"Well, even after you and her talked, sure you've started your routines again, but," Liz continued," you've been distracted by things other than symmetry lately."

He frowned and turned away.

"She's right, of course," he thought to himself," I have been neglecting some things, I guess I'm just rattled about all this."

He sighed.

He turned to Maka and Soul, to his surprise, they were leaning up against a wall.

Maka had her book again, no surprise there, Soul was staring into space, no surprise there.

What caught his attention was how they were doing it.

"It's like they're – forcing themselves to do that," Kid thought," what is going on with those two?"

**In the desert.**

"Imitations!?" Maka and Soul blurted.

The group's pace didn't slow, DeathSmith simply turned to face them.

"Yes, we have copies of you two wandering around the DWMA." He replied, his voice seemed bored.

"I still can't believe you guys managed to get that working," Cutter praised, his uncovered hair dripped red," bravo."

"Well it was simple really," DeathSmith mused," using the abilities of our dear Shroud we can create two realistic copies."

Soul cocked his head.

"Only two?" he asked, DeathSmith nodded.

"And that's at the best of circumstances," he stated grimly," unfortunately we have two people that are needed for this, one male one female, hence we could clone you two."

"Wait," Maka muttered," the clones are actually people?"

Cutter sighed.

"You brought them along and you haven't even explained anything?" he asked, DeathSmith eyed his feet.

"They're Shroud's weapons." He stated.

**Back at the academy.**

Kid walked out of the class, another wasted day in his opinion.

"Why do we just sit around all day," he asked aloud," we did that already why walk to this new room?"

Liz shook her head.

BlackStar was heard making similar statements, though they implied how he wasn't showing how great he was.

Maka and Soul walked right past the group.

"Hey Maka, Soul," Kid called before they got too far," where're you going?"

They stopped and looked at each other.

"Home." They replied at almost the same time.

Kid's gaze narrowed slightly.

"Well we don't have school tomorrow," he started," wanna meet up at the basketball court?"

They exchanged looks.

"Yeah sure." Soul shot back before they disappeared into the crowd of students.

Kid crossed his arms over his chest.

Liz noticed his stern look, she sighed.

"What's wrong now Kid?" she asked.

BlackStar walked past Kid with Tsubaki in tow, he waited for them and any other students to leave.

"I don't know," he finally admitted," just – something."

He stood there staring down the hall.

Liz put a hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon," she prompted," let's just get home."

**The next day.**

"How do you guys do this!?" Maka almost wailed as they passed into Death City.

"Do what?" Alexis asked.

"Walk all day and night." Echo explained.

Maka shivered slightly.

"Make up your minds," she managed," first you say you won't move around at night and suddenly we aren't stopping for anything!"

Soul shook his head, though he did agree.

"It's important that we arrive at this time," DeathSmith explained, his tone as bored as ever," last time we were ahead of schedule.

"Well what was all that 'we don't function like you' or whatever about," Soul asked," you seemed serious."

DeathSmith turned.

"I was." He stated before looking ahead, Soul sighed.

"I thought you'd tell us everything." He muttered.

"What you've learned is enough for the moment." Alexis stated sweetly.

Her voice seemed to hold a silent order, it simply said 'let it go' which was the exact opposite of what Soul wanted to do.

They walked towards the academy, taking some detours to avoid any stray crowds.

They passed a certain point, DeathSmith felt familiar eyes on them.

"Dammit." He breathed.

Kid dribbled the ball, he faked out BlackStar and moved to pass it to Liz only for Maka to intercept the ball, she moved towards the net.

"Damn." He almost spat as the ball fell through the net once more.

"That make's ten to nothing," Tsubaki called," Maka's team wins."

"Hey," BlackStar blurted," I'm on the team."

"Yeah but you're not the captain." Maka laughed, she pointed teasingly at BlackStar.

Kid watched Maka.

"Yeah," he thought," something's not right."

"Wow Maka," Liz praised," you've gotten a lot better at this."

"Yeah I guess so." Maka replied.

Kid panted for a few more seconds.

A strangely familiar feeling crept into his awareness.

Somehow it felt, different however.

"It's more intense." He muttered.

He looked around.

A flash of a white mask moved behind a building.

He quickly ran towards the corner.

"Hey Kid," Liz called," where're you going?"

He reached the corner and peeked around it, much to his surprise, an entire group of similarly dressed people were walking, they had a single person in a tuxedo with them.

"There's more!?" he almost yelled, the others had caught up.

They saw these masked people too.

"Does anyone have a mirror?" Kid asked.

The real Maka felt strange walking through Death City in her disguise.

She felt like she was sneaking into a hostile area, this feeling wasn't helped by the accusing looks from literally everyone they passed.

She shivered slightly.

The Altered stopped, she almost bumped into Cutter, but caught herself in time.

She looked past him, much to her surprise, there was Kid, his arms were crossed over his chest with Liz and Patty in their weapon forms.

He looked very angry.

"What are you doing here?" he asked DeathSmith, without realising who it was, his grip on Liz and Patty tightened.

He seemed to notice Alexis' mask, he shook his head.

"Just passing through." DeathSmith replied.

"Don't give me that!" Kid yelled, he turned to Alexis," and what are you doing with these guys?"

Alexis seemed to try to disappear into her clothes as she fidgeted.

Surprisingly, Cutter stepped between Kid and Alexis.

He was the only one other than Hush to not be wearing his mask.

He turned to Kid.

"Who're you to yell at her!?" he asked angrily, he cocked his hooded head.

Footsteps were heard all around them, Maka looked to see that DWMA agents clad in suits had surrounded them, they looked at them.

She wanted to disappear now.

"Masks off," Kid ordered," now."

Maka felt a pang of fear.

"Damn," she thought," if he see's Soul and me-"

She couldn't finish the thought, DeathSmith took a heavy step forward, he brushed Cutter back.

He looked Kid in the eyes.

"No." he replied.

Kid tensed slightly.

"You don't have a choice!" he stated angrily.

This earned him a chuckle from Cutter.

"What's so-" Kid tried.

"Take us to Lord Death," DeathSmith ordered, Kid almost flinched," we need to speak with him."

"Masks off." Kid repeated.

Hush suddenly had his pistols in his hands he tapped the barrels together, Cutter flexed his fingers, they were barely visible under the sleeves of his Parka.

Even Alexis tensed slightly, her right hand began to shift to the side of her case.

Echo cowered under the gaze of the agents.

Soul wrapped an arm around Maka.

Death Smith broke the tension with a wave of his hand, the group relaxed, with the exception of Soul, Maka and Echo.

DeathSmith turned to one of the many alleys on the street.

He looked back at Kid.

"Take us to Lord Death or your hidden friends die." He threatened.

Two longswords fell from his sleeves with metallic clicks, the thin switchblade swords were held lazily towards the alley.

Hush picked up on DeathSmith's gaze and immediately aimed down the alley.

The two Altered stared Kid down, who was starting to grit his teeth.

A few seconds passed.

Hush's finger pulled the trigger slightly, though the gun didn't fire.

"Fine!" Kid yelled in defeat," you win."

Hush immediately relaxed, though he kept the guns out.

"We'll escort you." Kid stated.

"That was the plan," DeathSmith assured him as the groups began to move," your friends can follow us too."

Kid clenched his fist.

Soul patted Maka's shoulder, after a few meters she turned to him, he gestured behind them.

There behind the agents was the rest of the gang, complete with BlackStar, Tsubaki, Maka and Soul.

The copies waved to them.

They both looked forward.

"This is weird," Maka muttered.

"Yeah." Soul agreed.

It took about an hour to get to the death room.

Luckily there weren't very many people at the school, though it seemed like all eyes were on the Altered as they passed.

Maka once more felt like she was in hostile territory.

When they walked down the gauntlet of guillotines, Cutter looked around, he seemed enthralled by the death room.

On the platform, Lord Death was talking to Spirit and Azusa, all three turned to the group.

On the platform the Altered shifted nervously.

Lord Death looked at the agents.

"I think you can leave now." He said in his usual voice.

"But-dad," Kid stammered," they-"

"I think we can handle them on our own." Lord Death offered.

With a varied amount of enthusiasm, the agents left, when the last one had disappeared, DeathSmith stepped forward.

"Thank you for this chance Lord Death." He said with a bow.

Kid stepped forward.

"Alright," he said," now masks off."

Cutter turned to Kid.

"It's alright." DeathSmith assured him.

He reached up and pulled his mask off and his hood down.

He clipped his mask to the front of the book on his belt.

Kid was surprised.

"Wha- bu-but you've been in class!" he stammered.

"Do you mean me?" a voice asked, a boy with white, black tipped hair stepped out from behind the mirror on the platform, he waved at Cutter, who waved back.

Kid turned to the newcomer.

"Why hello Forge," Lord Death greeted DeathSmith," long trip?"

"It wasn't the best walk, but it served its purpose." DeathSmith replied politely.

The room was silent.

"Forge?" Maka asked silently.

"You two know each other?" Kid asked his father.

Lord Death nodded.

"I know all of them." Lord Death stated, much to the groups surprise.

Liz and Patty returned to human form.

"Now would you please?" Lord Death prompted.

Alexis removed her mask, Echo hesitated.

"It's alright Echo." Alexis stated as she slipped her mask into her case.

He nodded and removed his mask, it took a few deep breathes to pull down his hood.

His bluish hair swayed over his pale face.

His eyes remained closed, a large stitching dropped from the centre of his scalp, it traveled down to his left nostril then turned and disappeared under his left earlobe.

His eyes opened.

His right eye was brown with some grey, his left eye however, didn't even have an iris nor a pupil, it was just an empty white void.

His right eye looked around the room as he held his mask, he avoided eye contact with anyone.

Soul removed his mask almost at the same time as Maka, the surprised faces of the group were evident on everyone, except for the copies.

"What the hell!?" Liz blurted.

The Maka copy giggled, it's voice wasn't Maka's anymore, it was slightly more mature.

Both copies grew almost a head taller, their skin paled.

The woman who was pretending to be Maka stretched her shoulders, her long brown hair swayed slightly, she wore a bigger version of Maka's uniform.

The man pretending to be Soul cracked his neck, his brown hair shifted.

He wore a bigger version of Soul's uniform.

Both of them had blue eyes.

"That was getting boring anyway." The woman cooed.

Both of them walked over to Shroud, who simply smiled at the gang's confused faces.

"Will someone explain what just happened!" Kid shouted.

Lord Death began, but before he could a woman came running down the gauntlet of guillotines.

Everyone's focus turned to this newcomer.

"L-Lizzy?" Hush attempted, he squinted to see better.

Elizabeth reached the platform in a few seconds, she almost tackled Hush, though he stayed upright by swinging her around.

They kissed while they spun.

When they stopped she slugged him in the shoulder.

"That's for leaving without saying anything." She stated as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Ok ok," he stammered, "it won't happen again."

She turned to Cutter and 'Forge' much to everyone's surprise, she hugged them both.

"Brothers!" she beamed," it's so good to see you again!"

Everyone stood shocked.

She soon stopped and looked around.

"What's with all the people?" she asked, she pushed her sunglasses higher on her nose.

"How'd you know we were here?" Hush asked.

"Please," she retorted," half the city knows."

"Stop, stop, stop," Kid ordered," how does our little teacher know you guys?"

Without even looking Elizabeth grabbed Hush's left hand, she pulled his glove off and raised her own left hand.

The steel rings gleamed.

"They're married." DeathSmith stated.

"I thought he was your brother." Maka blurted." Why'd she call you brothers?"

"He's our brother in law," Cutter stated, his red stained hair swayed slightly," she's our sister."

"Enough!" Kid yelled.

Everyone looked at him.

"What the hell is going on!?" he asked once more.

Lord Death coughed.

"Perhaps I can shed some light on this." He muttered.

He moved to the mirror, though he kept facing them.

"I think you should all get better acquainted," he stated," everyone, meet Elizabeth Zorski, Seth Zorski and Drake Zorski."

DeathSmith, Cutter and Elizabeth all looked around nervously.

"They are the sons and daughter of Greg." Lord Death finished.

**Author's Note: ****hey it's Gorse.**

**Man that took a long time to finish, I don't even know why, it's not like I'm** **doing anything at the** **moment.**

**Anyway, good, bad, awful let me know.**

**Btw DUN DUN DUNNNN shit's been revealed.(yay)**

**So, if anyone saw that coming, nice, everyone else that doesn't possess ESP yes that just happened.**

**This was planned for a little while nut I couldn't bring it in until now.**

**So DeathSmith, Cutter and Elizabeth are all related and are the offspring of one Gregory Terrance Zorski.**

**And yes that means he pulled a Medusa not once, but multiple times.**

**Don't worry, next chapter is a wall-of-text explanation of the stuff going on. **

**Man this is getting rushed.**

**I like just introduced Lizzy and suddenly she's important.**

**And yay Echo finally has his face in the open.**

**The fighting needs work as does my pacing.**

**Seriously, there barely was any real carnage at all.**

**This chapter seems so rushed to me and I'm the one who wrote it.**

**Damn it.**

**Let me know if it was alright.**

**Whatevs see you next chapter, BYYEEE.**

**-GorseT**


	10. Chapter 10: Under the Knife

Knowledge is power,

This is true,

But those with this power should always remember,

Even the ignorant and slow can crush you,

Given they have the numbers to do so.

Unfortunately,

They usually do.

-Seth McClissey

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

The death room was silent.

The air seemed to shift, a chilling breeze was created by the words of Lord Death.

"What?" Kid breathed, he eyed his father.

He was beyond surprised, as were the others.

Lord Death looked at Kid.

"These three are Greg's children." He repeated.

DeathSmith, Cutter and Elizabeth all looked around nervously.

The gang started to tense slightly, especially Kid.

The Altered noticed everyone's expressions and moved to defend the three, Echo stood by DeathSmith and Cutter, he began to raise his left hand, though with his abnormally long sleeves, his skin remained hidden.

Hush wrapped an arm around Elizabeth.

Curiously, Alexis moved to cover Maka and Soul.

"Now now," Lord Death sighed," calm down, there's no reason for this behaviour."

The Altered exchanged looks, DeathSmith waved them away, though they didn't go far.

Maka and Soul looked at each other, Alexis relaxed slightly.

Echo lowered his left arm, the fabric of his long sleeves kept his limb hidden during the act.

"Even Echo was ready for a fight." Maka thought, she thought back to the ordeal." Wait, wasn't he the first to move, so they really thought about attacking."

She shivered slightly.

Soul wrapped an arm around her, she looked at his face, he wasn't exactly happy about the current situation.

Everyone stood in silence.

Suddenly, Cutter took a step forward, then another.

He slowly walked towards Lord Death, Kid moved to follow.

When he was about to pass Maka and Soul, Soul stopped him with a hand.

Kid looked at them surprised, Maka shook her head at him.

Cutter stopped moving forward a few meters from Lord Death.

Much to everyone's surprise, he knelt in front of Lord Death.

"It's good to finally meet you," he stated clearly, he bowed his head," the God of Reward and Punishment, it's a real honor."

"No need for formalities here," Lord Death assured him," really, MadEye."

"Of course." Cutter replied, he rose to his feet.

Maka looked at Cutter confused.

"What did he say?" she asked herself.

Lord Death turned to Shroud.

"I think we'll need some privacy Face," he stated," if you don't mind."

Shroud took a short bow.

"Of course sir," he replied," we needed to get home anyway."

He turned to the man and woman next to him.

"Right, Wrong," he called as he moved towards the guillotines," let's go."

"Yeah sure." The woman replied," C'mon Wrong."

She followed Shroud out, with the man in tow.

They watched them go, no one moved to stop them.

Right turned, she seemed to blow a kiss towards the group before disappearing.

Kid turned to Lord Death.

"Who are they!?" he almost yelled." What is going on, how do you all know each other."

DeathSmith huffed in amusement.

"You haven't figured it out yet have you?" he asked.

Kid turned to him.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" he shot back.

Cutter sighed.

"We're not your enemy." He stated, he brushed some flecks of dried blood from his chin.

Kid turned to him.

"We're friends of the reaper." Alexis added.

Liz looked at her.

"But," Kid stammered," what about everything that's happened!?"

Lord Death chuckled.

"Alexis and I have moved past the past," he assured him," and she has rejoined her team."

"We have more enemies since the last time," DeathSmith told Lord Death," that may be a problem."

Lord Death nodded.

"Yes, but I'm sure that you can still complete the mission." He stated.

"What are you talking about?" Kid asked.

Alexis wrapped an arm around Kid's shoulder.

"Relax Kid," she cooed," everything's fine."

He looked at her surprised.

DeathSmith approached the young reaper.

"A bit jumpy don't you think?" he muttered." I dunno, I beat him easy enough."

He eyed BlackStar, Tsubaki, Soul and Maka.

"Then again-" he sighed, he looked at Soul and Maka, he took a few steps back," very well."

Kid, Liz, Patty, BlackStar and Tsubaki turned to him expectantly.

He turned to face them.

"As two of you already know," he began, he spread his arms," we are the RDS."

"RDS?" Liz repeated.

"Yeah," Maka confirmed," it stands for-"

"It stands for Reaper Death Squad," Kid muttered, he looked at DeathSmith," correct?"

DeathSmith gave him a smirk.

"That's right," he stated," so you've heard of us."

"I have." Kid replied.

"What's the RDS?" Tsubaki asked.

"An elite unit," Kid began," it was supposed to be made up of weapons and meisters of exceptional skills."

He eyed DeathSmith.

"Well at least the reputation has stayed intact." Cutter mused.

Kid brushed Alexis' hand from his shoulder.

"The group was disbanded years ago," Kid continued," and now you've brought it back."

DeathSmith shook his head.

"No, not even close," he stated," the RDS used to be feared because of its strength, now it's filled to the brim with-"

He trailed off.

"Freaks." Alexis finished.

Maka eyed her feet.

Hush gave a huff of amusement.

"Well we're all here again aren't we?" he offered.

"Yeah," Elizabeth agreed, she pecked her husband on the cheek," we are."

"I guess we'll just have to go with this." Hush stated.

"But what about them being Greg's children?" Kid asked.

DeathSmith chuckled.

"Dad's been on our list of enemies for a while now," he stated," don't worry about it."

"How can we know you're telling the truth?" Kid almost spat.

"Well if Lord Death's word won't convince you," Cutter mused," than I guess you can't."

Kid gritted his teeth, he did have a point.

Lord Death looked at the kids in front of him.

" Well I think that you all should befriend each other at your own pace," he stated, he turned to Azusa and Spirit, who were both waiting more or less patiently," right now I have things to discuss."

BlackStar immediately made for the exit, with Tsubaki in tow.

Hush and Elizabeth moved next, Echo replaced his mask and followed them.

Maka and Soul waited for DeathSmith to start to leave, they followed him closely along with Alexis.

Cutter, Kid, Liz and Patty stayed behind the longest.

Cutter turned to leave, he saw Kid looking at the ground.

Kid clenched his fists angrily, Cutter walked towards him and stopped a few feet away from the angry reaper.

"Jumpy indeed, fast heart rate, unchecked rage," Cutter muttered loud enough for Kid to hear, Kid looked up at the Altered," still just a kid, Reaper Boy."

Kid's eyes narrowed.

Cutter strode forward, he clicked the dial on the side of his collar, he stopped beside Kid.

"Your blood looks appetising though." Cutter hissed with a menacing smile.

Kid almost shuddered, he looked at the boy beside him.

The crazed boy stared back at him.

"See ya later," Cutter hissed, he resumed his trek for the door, an aura of bloodlust emanated from his flesh," Reaper Boy."

Cutter turned the dial on his collar again, the sensation of his lust for violence seemed to disappear from the air.

Liz and Patty approached Kid, who was still watching Cutter go.

She nudged his shoulder, he seemed to snap from a daze.

"Let's go home." She offered.

"Yeah." He agreed, he made his way to the door.

**The next day.**

Maka walked through the streets of Death City, she was once again in her usual attire.

She still wore the sling from the other day.

Soul filed in next to her.

"So, first day back in class." He muttered.

"Yeah." She replied, her mind was elsewhere.

She thought about what had happened the day before.

"God of Reward and Punishment." She muttered under her breathe. "What did he mean by that?"

Her question went without an answer, Soul and Maka soon made it to the training room.

She wasn't surprised to see the Altered there.

They all wore relatively normal clothes, with the exception of Alexis, who wore her heavy parka.

There was another boy in class, she couldn't recognise him however.

Curiously, Hush was helping students along with Elizabeth.

Maka found a bench and sat down, some students began to file into one of the sparring rings, she opened a book awkwardly in one hand.

"Y'know you don't have to watch over me all the time." She told Soul, who was seated next to her.

He chuckled.

"I guess not." He agreed.

"Why not join the class?" she offered." I'm fine here."

He looked at her.

"You sure?" he asked, she nodded." Alright then."

He pushed himself from the bench and moved to the sparring ring that cheers had started to escape from.

Maka sat in silence reading, she awkwardly moved to turn the page, her grasp slipped and the book fell to the ground.

"Dammit." She muttered, she reached for the book.

Before her hand came within a foot of the book, the hand of another picked it up.

She expected it to be Soul.

"Thanks S-" she began as she raised her gaze, she stopped when she saw it was the unknown boy, he held her book in his bandaged right hand while his left was in his pocket.

He offered the book back to her.

"I think this belongs to you." The boy muttered.

His jet black hair shifted, his sleek silver glasses flashed, the glare blocked out his eyes.

He wore a black jacket with rolled up sleeves that reached his elbows, the large collar was uptuned covering his neck, his right arm was cover in bandages.

His black pants had a chain on the right side that looped around him, his skin was pale and he was very tall.

Curiously, he wore heavy combat boots, despite looking like a handsome nerd.

She grasped her book.

"Thanks." She said.

The boy motioned to the bench.

"Can I sit?" he asked.

His voice seemed familiar, but for some reason she couldn't place it.

"Sure." She replied.

The boy gingerly sat down beside her.

"Fighting isn't really my thing." He stated, he looked her over.

She reopened her book and managed to find her page.

She felt the boy's eyes on her the entire time, finally she turned to look, he was staring at the sling on her arm.

"What?" she asked.

"The sling's been on long enough," the boy stated, he removed his glasses, he began to clean them with a cloth," can I get it back."

She saw his eyes.

The right one was as red as a pool of blood, while the left one shone a brilliant gold.

She knew those eyes.

"C-Cutter!?" she almost yelled, he closed his eyes and moved his ears away from her.

"Don't call me that here," he said," just – call me Drake."

She was surprised – no - shocked at his behaviour.

And how he looked.

He looked completely different than the blood encrusted boy she had spent a day traveling with.

He looked clean and smart, not at all like he did in The Town.

"S-sorry." Maka managed.

He looked at her and replaced his glasses, after a few moments he gestured towards the sling with his hand.

"Oh right sorry." She blurted as she hurriedly undid the sling with her free hand.

After a few seconds she handed him his sling.

She gingerly stretched out her arm, it cracked from the act.

Her shoulder felt usable again.

'Drake' accepted the sling, he folded it and slipped it into the pouch he had strapped to his lower back, during this she noticed he had a glove on his left hand.

Maka tried to read her book, but couldn't, the boy sitting next to her was too weird.

She recalled what he had said the day before.

She closed her book.

"Hey." She muttered.

"Yeah?" he retorted.

"When we were talking to Lord Death," she began," what did you mean?"

Drake smiled.

"What, you think a reaper is just death and that's it?" he asked her, she was surprised by the question," No, a reaper is a being of Reward and Punishment."

He sighed and pushed his glasses up higher on his nose.

"Many people think Life and Death are two completely different things," he continued," but the reality is that they are the same, to let one live can be viewed as a kindness, while killing someone can be seen as a crime against nature."

He rose from the bench.

"Walk with me." He ordered.

She watched him head for the door, she moved to follow him.

They walked side by side in the hall.

"Have you ever thought about wanting to be alive?" he asked, the question confused her." I don't mean if you've ever wanted to die, but if you ever loved living."

She thought for a moment.

"Well, yeah I guess." She stammered.

"Say you did a crime, how about killing a fellow student," he began, he pushed up his glasses, she eyed him warily," if you felt regret and guilt, you'd want to die."

She eyed the ground.

"So the reaper may kill you, give you justice, a reward to both you and those that you've hurt," he turned to look at her," but what if he decided to be cruel?"

She looked at his odd expression.

"What do you mean?" she asked, she hadn't the faintest idea what he was getting at.

He huffed in amusement.

"Alright, let's say you felt no regret, no guilt," he offered," you only felt the gain of power from taking another's life, a feeling that can scarcely be described, he may let you live, but what if he decided to be smart?"

"Seriously," she started," what are you saying?"

He sighed.

"I'm saying, life and death are the same thing," he explained," they are the means of both reward and punishment, but which is which depends greatly on the person in question."

Her eyes studied the boy, he wasn't exactly making much sense.

They walked in an awkward silence for a few seconds.

He looked her over.

"A grigori soul," he said blankly," sealed inside a body with relatively little muscle mass."

"Are you insulting me?" Maka asked.

He gave a huff of amusement.

"No just," he started, he thought for less than a single second," making an observation."

Maka looked at the ground while he turned his eyes to the ceiling.

"Hey." She muttered.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Is our teacher really your sister?" she inquired with genuine interest, he nodded." But she looks so young!"

He chuckled slightly.

"She'd like to hear that," he said with a hint of sarcasm," she's twenty years old."

"Well how old is-" she stried, she realised she didn't know Hush's real name.

"Hush?" he voiced, she nodded," his name is Vlad and he's twenty one, they've been married for a couple years."

"Who is Vlad?" Maka asked.

"Are you interrogating me?" he shot back, despite the comment, his face boasted a smile.

"No, I'm just – curious." She managed.

"Ask my brother, Seth," he told her," he's better at this than me."

She looked at him confused.

"Better at what, talking?" she thought to herself," he's doing alright so far."

He looked at her again, his face changed for a moment, it looked like surprise, then he smiled.

"So," he muttered," you've come in contact with black blood."

The fact that it obviously wasn't a question chilled Maka, his tone didn't help her feel any better.

"Y-yeah but," she stammered, they stopped walking," how do you know that?"

He smirked and removed his glasses, he tapped his left temple.

"I don't see like you," he stated, he shrugged," well, not with this eye anyway."

"What do you mean?" Maka demanded.

"I see blood and bone," He revealed as he looked her blood vessels over," and at some point your blood got a lovely shade of black, fairly recently if memory on the subject serves me well."

"W-well-" she stuttered.

"Your partner," he finished for her," I know, that was the most likely cause, I hadn't noticed due to the fact that the trace is so faint."

"That's damn creepy." Maka managed.

"Well everyone has flaws and perks," he chuckled," it just so happens that mine go hand-in-hand."

She arched a brow, he saw this.

"Let's put it this way," he sighed," have you ever gone through a place that sells food while hungry with no money?"

She thought for a moment before nodding.

"Well, you've seen the real me," he stated, he outstretched his arms," and I see what I eat, all the time."

She looked to her feet, though morbid, she grasped his logic.

"Maka!" Soul's voice echoed through the halls.

They both turned the way they had come.

"We should-" she began.

"Of course." He agreed, he began to walk back, she followed him.

They walked in silence for a few seconds.

"Hey can I ask you something?" she asked.

"You just did." He mused.

"Cute," she muttered, he smirked," how can you stand it here given your – situation."

"Oh that's easy," he replied, he pulled his collar down, revealing his thick, greyish blue collar," this thing taps directly into my spine and delivers a charge to my nervous system, if I get too excited or start to lose it, the level of charge increases, nullifying my wavelength."

"Wow," Maka said dumbly," does it hurt?"

He caught the last word.

"Hurt?" he repeated.

"Yeah, does it cause you pain?" she asked again.

He thought for a moment.

"I dunno," he admitted," I've never thought about it."

"How long have you worn that thing?" she inquired, surprised by his answer.

"This, since the Town," he stated," but I wore a less powerful version on my wrist up 'til that point."

"Speaking of which," she said," what's with the bandages?"

"What else," he asked sarcastically," I got hurt."

She eyed him.

"Right." She muttered, that wasn't exactly the in-depth answer she wanted.

They turned the corner, they saw Soul standing outside of the training room, when he saw them his eyes narrowed at Drake.

"Hello." Drake greeted him before moving into the class.

Soul stopped Maka from following him.

"I leave you for a second." He sighed, he trailed off.

"Sorry," she muttered," I wanted to learn something."

Soul looked at her arm.

"Where's the sling?" he asked.

"Cutter asked for it back." She replied.

"Cutter is here!?" he almost shouted.

She pointed at the door.

"He just walked past you." She told him.

"That was him," Soul managed," but-"

"I know," she agreed," I was surprised too."

"So what did he say?" Soul asked.

"He didn't say much," she admitted," just a bunch of stuff that didn't make much sense."

Soul shook his head.

"Well, he did say that he can see blood and bone." She offered.

"Really," Soul stammered," how?"

"I don't know," she stated," he didn't say."

"Anything else?" Soul asked.

"Yeah," she confirmed," he told me to talk to his brother."

"Didn't we do that already?" Soul inquired.

Maka leaned against the wall, she thought back.

"Yes and no," she finally said," Seth told us who they are, but now that I think about it, he never went in depth about WHAT they are."

Soul nodded in agreement.

"Well, we still have a class to attend." He voiced, he gestured towards the door.

She nodded and moved to rejoin the class.

Once inside she looked everyone over.

She saw all of the Altered, save one, she hadn't noticed his absence until that point.

"Hey, where's Echo?" she muttered.

Alexis approached Maka, she wrapped her arm over the shorter girl.

"Hey Girly," Alexis greeted her as she did so," what's with the face?"

"Hi Alexis," Maka sighed," do you know where Echo is?"

"Yeah," she replied almost sadly," he hasn't been cleared for normal classes yet so he's at his house with one of Seth's partners."

"Seth has two partners?" Maka asked.

"Well, yeah," Alexis stated," you didn't see them, he had them out like, yesterday."

"Two swords." Soul commented.

Alexis nodded from behind her mask.

"Well, why hasn't he been cleared," Maka asked," I mean 'Drake' was."

Alexis giggled slightly.

"Yeah, but he's under control right now." She stated, the comment confused Maka.

"What," Maka blurted," how is that keeping Echo from classes."

Alexis' mask shook.

"Trust me," Alexis warned," Drake may be dangerous, but so is Echo, just for different reasons."

Alexis patted Maka's shoulder before walking to one of the rings, she moved in beside Seth to watch a fight.

Maka noticed the cases on Seth's forearms were gone.

It seemed strange, until she saw another person standing beside him.

The person wore a black hoodie with the hood up, covering their hair, with jeans that hugged their curves revealing the fact that it was a woman, her flat shoes helped this fact.

This person was approached by Elizabeth, who seemed to ask Seth for permission.

He nodded and the two walked over to a desk that had been put in the corner as a make-shift teaching area.

They spoke for a little while, Maka moved towards them, hoping to talk to them.

On her way she walked past Vlad, he stopped her with a hand.

She eyed him surprised.

"Not now," he said, his tone wasn't threatening, which surprised her," please."

He lightly pushed her back towards the rings

She decided to watch the fight that Seth and Alexis were watching.

She arrived in to see Dominic trip a student with the training sword he was using, he rest the fake blade on his opponent's neck.

"Three wins in a row," Seth muttered," his style isn't even that original, though is rather effective."

Maka looked at the boy in the ring as he boasted obnoxiously, she saw his partner on the other side of the ring, Lin was shaking her head.

"So he can fight without his weapon," Alexis commented," though he's not fighting meisters."

Maka turned.

"Huh, he's not?" she asked.

Seth shook his head.

"He's just fighting weapons who probably never fought alone a day in their life," he stated," he's even getting them to partially transform for an 'additional challenge' if you can believe that, so far only three have even done that, it's insulting."

Alexis whispered in his ear, a large smile broke over Seth's face.

"Yes that would be fun to watch." He stated.

Maka nudged his shoulder, he turned to her.

"Hey can I talk to you about your brother?" she asked.

His smile grew.

"Good timing if you mean Drake," he stated, she hadn't but nodded nonetheless, anything was better than nothing, Seth turned in the crowd," hey Drake!"

Drake approached.

"Yeah bro?" he asked.

Seth pointed at Dominic in the ring.

"No blood." Seth replied.

Dominic orbited the ring once more cheering himself on the entire time.

"Another win." He thought to himself.

The previous combatant opened the door to the chainlink wall and stepped out, Dom saw someone else take his place through the corner of his eye.

He turned to face this person directly.

He recognised the glasses wearing nerd as one of the new students, he didn't recall his name though.

"Your funeral newbie." He scoffed.

The person smiled slightly, he removed his jacket, a large pouch and his glasses, he handed them off to the person Dom recognised as Fisher, Dom's eyes narrowed.

The person shifted their weight, he turned a dial on a large collar.

He cracked his neck and spread his bare feet.

"Why isn't he wearing his boots?" Maka asked.

"Because they're designed to break bones." Alexis stated.

Maka was surprised by the answer.

"Ok then." She said dumbly.

She watched Drake turn the dial on his collar.

"Hey," she huffed," where's Drake's weapon?"

Seth chuckled.

"You say that like he has one." He said.

"Well don't all of you?" Maka asked.

"No, there are two of us who don't have partners," Alexis stated," they are Drake and Echo, it's because they don't want to fight with one."

"Drake is too dangerous to be used in battle," Seth stated," though Echo doesn't have a partner for other reasons."

"I thought you all were meisters," Maka stated," well, except for you Alexis."

"Well, even a suit of armor isn't much good without a weapon." Alexis muttered.

"Both of you be quiet," Seth ordered, he smiled," It's about to begin."

"Are you going to stand there all day?" Dom asked loud enough for Maka to hear.

Drake untucked his left hand from his pocket.

He clenched this fist quickly, a blade similar to Justin Law's shot from his forearm.

Maka arched a brow, as the two fighters circled.

When Drake was close enough, she noticed the blade was serrated slightly.

"Is that – a saw?" she asked.

"A bone saw to be more precise." Seth replied, she turned to him.

"A bone saw!?" she repeated." Isn't that a medical tool?"

Alexis giggled.

"You haven't seen anything yet." She stated.

Maka turned to Seth.

"Let's just put it this way," he began," how'd you think he became the medic?"

Maka didn't quite understand his meaning, she turned back to the circling combatants in the ring.

Dom swiped at the newbie's head, his opponent blocked with the blade on his arm.

"So who are you anyway?" Dominic asked as he brought his training sword away.

"I'm Drake." The boy replied.

Drake shifted his feet.

"This Dominic has some skills," he thought," but he has weaknesses."

Dom stepped forward and stabbed for Drake's gut.

Drake sidestepped.

"Slight limp," Drake noted silently," healed veins and arteries in his right leg, hairline fracture, also healed, childhood injury no doubt, it's healed enough for it to barely be noticeable."

His gaze rose to Dom's arms, the blood rushing into his opponent's muscles allowed him to see them clearly.

He waited for Dom's next strike, which came quickly, a high slash that Drake ducked.

"Torn biceps, both arms, they've healed over, over training," Drake thought to himself," maybe."

Dom's ribs showed some wear and tear also.

"A few repaired ribs, holes in the bone, metal cuffs most likely," Drake noted," possible shot nerve endings, possible over-sensitive nerve endings in surrounding area."

He finally eyed Dom's jaw, it still had some bruising under Drake's expert vision.

"Bruises are gone, but they aren't healed properly," Drake muttered under his breath," yes, this'll work."

Dom raised his sword, halfway through the swing, Drake moved forward.

Drake side stepped Dom's swipe, Dom saw this and moved to kick Drake, with his left.

Drake ducked to the side and made a stomp for Dom's right foot, which was countered with a hurried hop away.

Dom clumsily raised his sword again.

In this moment Drake shot forward, he elbowed Dom in a specific part of his chest, just as expected, metal cuffs were in place, though he hadn't aimed directly at them.

Dom winced, his body shifted.

Drake turned, he placed the backs of his hands on Dom's biceps, he pushed Dom's arms away from each other.

Sure enough Dom's arms were forced to separate, in this moment, Drake spun on one foot.

His left foot traveled behind him to its destination; Dominic's jaw.

Drake's foot collided with the bones in Dom's jaw, knocking the fighter off balance, though not with enough force to break anything.

Drake gripped Dom's shoulder and tripped him with a well-placed foot.

Dom landed heavily on the cushioned floor.

He attempted to rise, Drake lay a knee on his back.

The feeling of a serrated blade on his neck stopped Dom's movements.

The fight was over.

"Whoa." Maka stammered.

"Yeah." Soul agreed.

"When'd you get here?" Maka asked, she hadn't noticed him.

"Just before the fight started." Soul replied, he looked back up to the ring.

"And that is why you don't boast about a victory that is assured." Seth muttered.

The group watched as Drake rose and made his way to the door of the ring.

Alexis moved to the door.

Drake walked away from his defeated opponent.

He saw Alexis open the chainlink door.

She was carrying his glasses on top of his jacket.

He heard Dom rise.

He eyed his glasses, in the reflection he saw Dom take a step towards him.

Drake sighed.

He raised his bandaged arm.

The training sword impacted the bandages, the blade broke.

The tip kept moving past Drake's face, he raised his hand in time to catch the piece of wood.

He spun and stabbed Dominic in the leg with the tip of the sword.

Dom dropped his broken weapon and fell to the ground once more, he clutched the new wound.

It took a few seconds for Elizabeth and Vlad to push through the stunned crowd.

"Damn it Drake," Vlad scolded as Elizabeth moved towards Dominic, Lin had pushed through the crowd to the entrance," not one day."

"Hey, he decided to be a sore loser!" Drake shot back.

Vlad sighed.

"How is he?" he asked.

"He's going to be fine after this thing gets out of him," she waved the medical staff that was standing near the door forward, they brought a stretcher," he'll need some mild surgery, it hasn't hit an artery."

She rose and approached Drake.

"Guess who has a job for the next four hours." She asked sarcastically.

"Hey that's bullshit and you know it!" he yelled.

"Too bad, it's this or you're getting suspended." She warned.

He sighed.

"I hate you so much," he sighed, he raised his arms defensibly," fine, screw it."

The medical crew entered the ring and placed the writhing Dominic on the stretcher.

Drake huffed disappointed.

Maka saw Drake's expression.

"What's happening, why's he mad." She asked.

"He's on surgery duty." Alexis stated, she had overheard Drake's conversation with Elizabeth and Vlad.

"Well I warned him." Seth muttered.

"Why don't either of you look surprised," Soul asked," or concerned for that matter?"

Alexis shook her masked face.

"Lizzy is a very simple person," she stated," and one of her morals is: you break it you fix it."

"And," Seth added," Drake's the best surgeon this planet's ever seen, bar none, that bleeding dumbass is going to be fine."

Seth was approached by the hooded person he was with before.

"What happened?" the shaky voice asked, it definitely was a girl.

"Drake stabbed his opponent with his own weapon." Seth replied.

Maka tried to see the new comer's face, but the hood stopped her.

The new person looked at her for a split second.

Surprisingly the right half of her face was tanned, but the left was slightly less so.

She wore some sort of eye covering, it had a blue visor and reached down to her nose.

The tall girl seemed surprised, she quickly turned back towards Seth.

Seth noticed Maka's stare.

"C'mon, let's go wait for Drake." He said as he moved to follow the medical crew.

They were almost out the door when Kid stopped Maka, the others lagged behind to wait for her.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked.

"Drake stabbed Dominic," she answered frankly," we're going to go wait for him."

"Which one's Drake?" Liz asked from beside Kid.

"The black haired one." Soul replied.

"Why would you wait for Dominic?" Kid asked.

"What," Alexis cut in," who said anything about waiting for him, we're waiting for Drake."

"Why?" Kid asked.

"Because apparently Drake's the one in charge of the surgery." Maka replied.

"What!?" Liz almost shouted.

Patty was looking around the room, her eyes moved to Liz at the outburst.

Alexis pulled Kid out of the room.

"C'mon then if you're just going to ask questions." She ordered.

They walked in silence to the infirmary.

When they arrived Elizabeth was outside of the door, she was talking to Vlad.

"Look just," she tried, she turned her head to the approaching group, she sighed," watch the class."

Vlad glanced over, he sighed too, but nodded.

He kissed her and walked past the group.

"What are you all doing out of class?" Elizabeth asked when they were close.

"C'mon sis-" Seth began in a forced tone.

"Don't do that to me," she warned," brother or not I'll have you in there with him in a second."

Seth thought for less than a second, then nodded in defeat.

"Anyone else want to try?" he asked.

Their teacher shook her head.

"Whatever," she removed her sunglasses with closed eyes and ran her hand through her ginger hair," just find some chairs or something."

She reopened her eyes, the right one was an ominous grey, mild scarring could be seen around the eye socket, the other eye was a very pale blue.

Maka saw her grey eye, Elizabeth turned and walked down the hall, she opened a random door and entered.

Maka nudged Seth's shoulder.

"Hey, what happened to her eye?" Maka asked.

He looked at her.

"Well she's like me," he stated," we have the same kind of soul."

"That doesn't answer my question." She replied.

"Believe it or not," he started," it does."

Elizabeth entered the hall once more, she carried a few chairs with her.

"There's a bunch in here." She stated as she approached .

The group moved to collect chairs.

They all sat down more or less surrounding the room Drake was in.

"So when's this going to start?" Kid asked.

"It started the second I left for chairs." Elizabeth stated.

"What," Soul stammered," how can you tell?"

Their teacher lowered her sunglasses enough for her eyes to show once more.

"Because I can." She stated.

Before he could reply, the sound of yelling was heard just beyond the door.

They all turned to it.

"And there's that." Seth mused with a smirk.

"You know what," Drake's voice boomed," out NOW!"

There was a muffled reply.

"Yes I'm being serious!" Drake yelled, he began speaking another language.

"What's he saying?" Maka asked.

Seth chuckled.

"He's speaking Russian and you don't want to know." He replied with a smirk.

Soon after the entire staff for the surgery, excluding Drake was in the hall.

"Well what now?" one asked.

Elizabeth laughed.

"Just have a break or something," she offered, they gave her quizzical looks," hey, you're not getting back in there while he's here."

They all shook their heads and moved down the hall.

They passed Stein, who watched them go with a confused look on his face.

He moved towards the group.

"Hey ." Maka greeted him.

"Hey," he replied," I heard there was an incident are those doctors going to it?"

Elizabeth shook her head.

"Nope they just got kicked out of the operating room." She told him.

"Well then who's inside?" He asked.

"Drake." Seth muttered.

"Why?" Stein inquired.

"You're welcome to join him." Elizabeth stated, she gestured towards the door.

Stein looked from the door and back to Elizabeth.

He began to open it.

"Incoming." Elizabeth muttered as she eyed her nails.

Stein ducked out of the way of a scalpel that was thrown at him, it stuck into the wall on the other side of the hall.

"Thanks." He said calmly.

"No problem," she replied," just watch what you do or say, he's a bit touchy."

Stein walked into the room.

"Who the hell ar-" was all they heard before," oh finally someone competent!"

The door slowly clicked shut.

Stein looked at the boy, he was in doctor's scrubs with a mask and everything.

He currently was cutting into Dominic's leg, Dom had been put under.

"That was fast." Stein thought to himself.

Stein looked around the O.R. it was devoid of all life other than Drake, Dom and himself.

"Is there a reason you're doing this by yourself?" Stein asked.

The boy muttered something in Russian.

"In English." Stein prompted.

"I work better alone." Drake replied as his scalpel cut into Dom, Stein noted that the boy was left handed.

Stein shook his head, his eyes rested on the table that was for holding the surgery tools, scalpels, forceps, clamps and the like were strewn on the table in an orderly manner.

Everything looked fine, one scalpel was missing.

Stein suddenly remembered the scalpel that was thrown at him.

"Shouldn't there be two missing?" he thought to himself.

He approached the boy.

He watched the boy bring his hand away from the incision, there wasn't a scalpel in his hand.

He saw the blade that had formed on the boy's index finger.

"He's what!?" Liz asked.

Alexis had removed her mask, she turned her ears away from Liz.

They had been talking about Drake.

"He's the perfect surgeon," Seth repeated," he's not a weapon, he's an array of surgical equipment."

Everyone including Maka and Soul looked at him in awe, while Elizabeth, Alexis and the mysterious girl didn't react.

"I don't see what the big deal is." Elizabeth huffed.

"So what exactly is he?" Maka asked.

"Well what do you use for surgery," Alexis shot back," because that's exactly what he is, bonesaw, rib spreader, forceps, scalpel, everything."

"Whoa." Soul mused.

"That's-" Liz began, she searched for the right word," useful."

"That it is." Seth agreed." Thanks to his rather unique form, he was the best candidate for the team medic."

"And torturer." Alexis added.

"We don't call him that," Seth snapped," he prefers info gatherer."

"Doesn't change what he does," She muttered," I've been freaked out by anyone who uses a scalpel ever since."

Everyone looked at her.

"Right," Maka blurted, she decided to change the subject, she turned to Elizabeth," so Elizabeth, what happened to your eye?"

Her teacher turned to her, she removed her sunglasses.

"I have a Grey Eye soul." She stated.

"That doesn't-" Maka tried.

"Believe it or not, it does." Both Seth and Elizabeth stated at the same time.

They both looked at her.

"They really are siblings." She thought to herself.

"Well fill us in on the blanks," Soul offered," we only heard of that a little while ago."

Elizabeth sighed.

"Whatever," she muttered," I used my 'gift' one too many times and my eye was damaged."

"What happened?" Maka asked.

"What happens to every Grey Eye," Seth cut in," her soul adapted to the ability being used and blinded her right eye."

"Just the right one?" Kid asked.

"Yes," Elizabeth confirmed," what he said is pretty much the best way you can put it, however there's a lottery of sorts with what can happen."

"What do you mean?" Maka asked.

"There are two possibilities," Seth replied," both eyes go blind or just one."

"And this happens to everyone with a Grey Eye soul?" Kid inquired.

Seth nodded.

"Eventually," he sighed," even I'll lose my vision at some point."

The girl beside him seemed to try to shrink into her seat.

Seth noticed this, he wrapped an arm around her and held her close.

Maka saw this, he was trying to comfort this girl, it worked after a few seconds, she stopped her strange behaviour.

"She doesn't really like other people." He stated when he saw Maka's gaze.

The girl pulled her hands from her pockets, the right one was slightly more tanned than the left.

She seemed to notice Maka looking at her hands, she quickly hid them once more.

Maka had seen this behaviour before, with Chrona though not at this level, this girl was absolutely terrified of people.

The group sat in silence for what felt like forever.

Finally, the door slid open.

"Why are you all still here!?" Drake yelled at them, his voice seemed to echo through the halls.

"Nice to see you too, how was the procedure?" Seth asked.

"Procedure," Drake repeated, he practically spat the word," shit-for-brains in there is gonna be fine, as for me, I'm getting a drink."

"Oh no," Elizabeth denied she rose to her feet," no alcohol for you."

"Who said anything about alcohol?" he asked, he raised a blood pack.

Stein swiped the plastic from his hands.

"I don't think so." He said plainly.

"Hey what the fuck!?" Drake yelled.

Seth reached over and turned the dial on Drake's collar a few times, with every click his expression softened.

"Agh," he yelped, he jumped away from Seth," go to hell, stop trying to make me normal!"

His pupils grew after a few seconds.

"Glasses," he muttered, Alexis handed him his glasses, he slipped them on and walked down the hall, he swiped his jacket from her before he got too far," was getting boring anyway."

The group watched him go.

"What – just happened?" Liz asked.

"What happened is the collar still works," Seth explained," thank god for that."

"We should probably get him home," Elizabeth offered, Seth sighed but nodded, they both rose," see you all tomorrow."

They began to move away from the group, the mystery girl quickly rose to follow them.

The group all rose and moved down the hall, a lot of time had passed.

When they were a ways down the hall, Maka heard someone talk to , she turned to see Lin looking up at him.

She asked him something, he shook his head, he pointed down the hall towards the group, Lin looked in time to see Maka turn the corner.

"She waited for us to leave?" Maka asked herself.

She looked at Alexis who was walking beside her, her mask was back on.

"Strange." Maka thought to herself.

She eyed Alexis for a moment.

"Hey Alexis," Maka started, the girl turned to her," why didn't you leave with them?"

Alexis seemed to think for a few seconds.

"Huh," she huffed," that's a good question."

She thought for a few more seconds.

"I guess I'm just getting used to being around you guys." She tried, it seemed as good an answer as any.

This simply earned her a smile from Kid and Maka.

They all returned to their homes, classes were over.

On their walk home, Maka watched Alexis walk to her house.

"Getting used to us." She repeated with a slight smirk.

She turned and followed Soul the rest of the way.

**Author's Note:**** Hey guys it's me, Gorse.**

**Just wanted to say, sorry.**

**The start of this chapter is god awful, I don't know why I wrote it like that.**

**This is not my best work, I'm willing to admit.**

**Though, there's a little more insight on Drake and how he fights, and how he acts.**

**A little schizophrenic, but he is wearing a shock collar so that's to be expected.**

**Oh first f-bomb of the chapters, nine chapters without one, a new record for me.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading this more than me, then I guess it'd be worth it.**

**I find it strange how I hate my writing style, but I guess there are people that don't.**

**Thank you if you are one of those people.**

**Whatevs, next chapter is coming out…..when it's done.**

**Til then feel free to scour the chapters for mistakes, I'm sure there's plenty. Jk Jk**

**See you next chapter, BYYEEE.**

**-GorseT**


	11. Chapter 11: Getting Ready

That which is behind you,

No matter what it is,

Has the power to drive you forward.

-Dreth Kyne

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

**Warning:**** flashbacks (sorry)**

Echo sat down on the couch.

He still wore his heavy parka, he ran his right index finger along the stitch line on his face.

He sighed.

"What's wrong?" a familiarly sweet voice asked, he knew that Tobi's friendliness was slightly forced.

"I still haven't been cleared." He managed, Tobi was one of the few people he felt comfortable around.

The tall girl strode from her room, she wore jean shorts and a white tshirt, her clothes hugged her rather  
well-endowed body.

"Don't worry," she cooed," you'll be accepted soon enough."

Echo liked Tobi, no matter how bad things got, she always was there for him.

He eyed her skin.

The left half of her body was slightly more tanned than the right.

Her long black hair swayed around her thighs, a white band lay at the tip of her hair, though only at the right side, it stopped at the centre of her head.

Her left eye shone a warm yellow while her right was a cool blue.

A knock at the door stopped his observations, a voice mumbled in his ear.

He blinked and rest his right hand on his cheek.

"I'll get it." Tobi stated, she walked over to the front of the house, the sound of the door opening soon followed.

After some muffled greetings Tobi returned, closely followed by a new person.

"Who is this?" Echo muttered, a greeting lanced through his mind, the woman was about to say it. "Oh, Marie."

Marie caught her tongue, she was surprised.

"Yes, I'm Marie," she managed, she was impressed, it seemed the info on Echo was correct," nice to meet you."

Echo felt strange, not frightened or concerned, he listened to the voice for a few more seconds.

"Yes," he muttered under his breath," she'll be fine."

"Sorry?" Marie asked.

Tobi shook her head.

"I'm sorry," Tobi muttered," he talks to himself sometimes."

Tobi gestured to a couch directly across from Echo.

Marie gingerly sat down.

"Thank you," she said as she did so," now down to business."

Tobi moved over to the couch Echo was sitting at, she sat on one of the armrests.

Marie took an envelope from her sleeve, she rest it on the short table that was between the couches.

Echo eyed the envelope, he arched a brow, Tobi rolled her eyes and reached for it.

She opened it and took out the paper inside, she quickly read it over.

Her face cracked with a smile.

"Well, well well, guess who's getting into the academy?" she beamed, she smiled widely.

Even Echo let a grin loose.

"There is a catch however." Marie warned.

Tobi frowned as she continued to read the letter.

"He needs to cover it," she voiced, she looked up," taking precautions I see."

"We need to," Marie assured her," if we could let him walk around unencumbered we would."

"I know that," Echo stated, his calm look surprised Tobi," I don't want to cause any further damage."

The three looked at each other.

The door opening surprised both Marie and Tobi, Echo simply eyed ahead, his right eye seemed to scan Marie.

Her voice whispered in his head, he sighed slightly.

Seth, Drake and Alexis strode in.

After a few seconds, the person Tobi was really waiting for followed, she rose to hug the hooded woman.

"Oh Tabi," she greeted her," I was so worried, how was your first day, sis?"

Tabi pulled her hood down, she pulled her visor off, her left blue eye seemed to try and cool her yellow right.

Her black hair swayed, the left half of her long hair was white tipped.

She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"There were so many people." She managed, she shook her head.

Tobi held her sister close, she ran her hand through her hair.

"Hey, hey, it's ok," Tobi whispered," you're home now."

Seth eyed his feet.

"I guess taking her wasn't such a good idea." He mused.

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT," Tobi shouted, her eyes glared right at him, her voice seemed to shake the entire house," she's shaking for fuck's sake!"

Seth raised his hands defensibly.

"Ok ok, sorry." He said.

Tobi's expression softened slightly, she turned back to her sister.

"C'mon," she prompted, she led Tabi to their room, she turned to Seth," I'm sure you can handle this."

Seth nodded.

"Yes what is it?" he asked Marie.

Marie shook her head free of what just happened.

"Uh right," she began," your friend here has just been accepted."

"That's good," he replied, he wrung his hands together," and what is required for that to ACTUALLY happen."

"I need my arm collared." Echo stated.

"So no changes there," Drake mused, he moved to the kitchen for some food," that's a relief."

Seth shot Drake an amused look.

"I'll unpack it later," he stated, he turned back to Marie," is there anything else?"

Marie began to speak.

"There's a dance tomorrow." Echo stated, Marie had to stop herself once more.

"It's more of a welcome back party." She managed.

"We're all invited?" Alexis asked.

"Yes," Marie confirmed," though your weapons must be in human form."

Alexis began to counter this, Seth presented his palm to her, she stopped.

"Is there any way for Alexis and Ko to have an exception to this?" he asked.

Marie was surprised.

"Just her?" she asked, Seth nodded.

"Ko doesn't like leaving me defenceless." Alexis stated, though it wasn't the full truth.

Marie shook her head.

"I don't know." She muttered." Lord Death may not allow it."

"Then let him decide." Echo stated.

Everyone turned to him, he looked at his feet.

Ko moaned from inside his case.

"Are you sure?" Alexis asked, he moaned again.

She turned to Marie, she sighed.

"He won't attend." She almost spat, she looked to one side almost angrily.

Marie blinked in surprise.

"B-but he ca-" she tried.

"Ko doesn't like the whole human form thing." Alexis shot back, cutting her off." He'd rather not be there at all."

"She will attend however." Seth stated.

"Bullshit I will!" she shot back.

He gave her a one second gesture.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"Ye-" Marie tried.

"I wasn't asking you." He replied, cutting her off, he turned to Echo.

"Yes that's all." Echo stated.

"Good," Seth sighed, he turned to Marie," now, not to be rude but, we have things to do."

He gestured towards the door.

Marie rose, she made her way to the door.

After she had gone Alexis turned to Seth, she removed her mask.

"What the hell Seth!?" she asked him.

"Look we need to all be there," he stated," it's important, trust me."

"But Ko-" she tried.

"I know he doesn't want to," Seth assured her," but we need you there, with or without Ko."

She crossed her arms over her chest.

Ko moaned.

"I know," she assured him," fine, I'll be there."

She pointed a finger at Seth.

"But you owe me." She stated, she moved towards the door.

"Oh and one more thing," Seth ventured, she stopped and turned, her face was visibly annoyed," no masks."

"You're over the line now." She spat.

"Hey, we all will be wearing normal clothes," Seth stated, he turned to Echo," including you Echo."

"Why am I going!?" he whined.

"Like I said all of us need to be there." Seth said.

Echo tried to find a way around this, finding none he simply eyed his feet.

"We'll talk to Vlad and Elizabeth tomorrow," Seth stated," they'll help us get ready."

"Speaking of which," Drake muttered, he strode into the room," where is Vlad, I thought he was living here."

"Elizabeth said that they should be living together," Alexis stated," she's not letting him out of her sight."

Drake nodded in understanding.

"Alright, Drake, Alexis," Seth began, his gaze shifted between the two," you'll be housemates for the time being."

"Cool." Drake sighed, accepting it.

Alexis sighed.

"Just like old times." She muttered.

She made her way to the door with Drake in tow.

When they had left, Seth turned to Echo.

"You were fairly collected for that," he stated," what is it?"

Echo shook his head.

"I'm not exactly sure." Echo admitted.

He turned to face Seth.

"I realise why you need to be there," Echo stated," but I'll only be a liability."

"Even so," Seth started," we do need you there."

Echo nodded after a few seconds.

"Well, I need to go apologise to Tobi for needing to scar Tabi with this party." Seth stated, he gave Echo a wave and moved towards his room.

Echo gave a huff of amusement.

"Good Luck." He offered with a slight grin.

Once Echo was alone, he sighed.

"Talking isn't really my thing." He muttered.

He finally was able to relish the silence that had accompanied 's absence.

He liked this group, he realised he enjoyed everyone's company.

Which, of course, was to be expected from the only people who gave him silence.

Maka opened the mailbox and gripped the envelope inside, she shut the metal door and moved towards her apartment.

By the time she had opened the door she was reading the letter.

Soul was sitting on the couch.

"There's a party tomorrow." She stated.

"Tomorrow," Soul repeated, Maka nodded," well that's short notice."

"I guess we'll have to start getting our stuff ready tonight." She sighed.

"Do you think they're going?" Soul asked, Maka turned to him surprised.

She thought for a few seconds.

"I don't know," she admitted," Seth maybe, the others though, I doubt it."

Soul nodded in agreement.

He rose and made his way into his room.

Marie strode down the gauntlet of guillotines.

After a few minutes she reached the platform, Lord Death and Spirit both turned to look at her.

"Ah Marie," Lord Death greeted her," hello how'd it go, I hope nothing went wrong."

"Everything went fine," she stated, she smiled warmly," though there is something I wanted to bring to your attention."

"And that is?" Lord Death replied.

"They have a request." Marie began.

"You seem nervous, is something wrong?" Spirit asked.

"No, no everything's fine," She assured him," it's just that they asked if it was possible for Alexis' weapon to stay in weapon form for the party tomorrow."

Lord Death turned to the mirror.

"Hmm," he huffed," I can see why she'd want to do that."

Both Marie and Spirit eyed him confused.

"If memory serves me well ," Lord Death began," Ko hasn't been in human form for years."

Spirit and Marie practically flinched at this.

"W-what," Spirit asked," how can you know?"

Lord Death turned.

"Alexis and I had a chat a little while ago," he admitted," she told me about her weapon."

Lord Death rest a large hand at the teeth of his mask.

"I don't think she'd do anything," he offered," but can we know for certain?"

"Lord Death, are you seriously considering this!?" Spirit asked.

The reaper turned to face him.

"Of course, Alexis just got here not too long ago," Lord Death explained," if we want her to start trusting us more, we should at least start trusting her."

He paced for a few moments.

"I'll allow it," Lord Death said finally, he stopped pacing and turned to Marie," but he must be locked down tight, he's not to leave the case on her back."

Marie nodded.

"I'd feel better if it had a lock on it," He continued," but let's not push our luck."

Spirit shook his head.

"Uh Marie?" Lord Death muttered.

She eyed him.

"Yes?" she asked.

"If it isn't too much trouble," he began," could you swing by Alexis' house and tell her that Ko can be a weapon for this and if possible, lock that case he's in?"

Marie nodded.

"Of course," she replied," I'm headed out anyway."

She gave them a wave before turning to go.

Spirit and Lord Death watched her go.

"Lord Death," Spirit started, the reaper turned towards him," is this a good idea?"

Lord Death turned back to the retreating Marie.

"Probably not." He admitted.

Alexis was laying in her blankets, she stared up at the ceiling.

She sighed, and turned to Ko, who was sitting in his open case.

He moaned.

"I know," she assured him, her gaze turned upwards once more," I don't like it any more than you do."

He moaned once more.

"Hey," she shot back," I didn't ask for this."

He sighed.

"Hmph," she huffed," well you can just stay here then, that is the plan."

There was a knock on the front door, she arched a brow.

She gingerly rose from her sheets on the floor and strode over to her bedroom door.

She opened it to see that Drake had greeted whoever had come.

"Hey," she whispered, he turned to look at her," who is it?"

He simply waved the person forward.

"Marie," she muttered," what are you doing here?"

"I here to pass on a message from Lord Death," Marie admitted," 'Ko' is allowed to be in weapon form for the party."

Alexis was surprised.

"W-what?" she managed.

"Lord Death was hoping he could be locked in his case however." Marie warned.

Alexis gritted her teeth.

"So that's the catch." She thought.

She turned to Ko.

"This alright with you?" she asked.

He moaned.

"You know what, idiot," she hissed at him, Marie watched her confused," are you alright with being in a locked box tomorrow?"

He sighed.

Alexis turned back to Marie.

"That's fine." She stated.

Marie smiled.

"Alright," she began," I guess I'll see you there."

"Yes you will," Drake assured her, he gently guided her to the door," now, we have things to do."

He almost slammed the door in her face.

"That was a little harsh." Alexis stated as he moved to his room.

"Bite me." He joked.

She bared her sharp teeth at him, though this only earned her an amused grin.

Drake turned off the hall lights.

Before she closed her door she heard the sound of a pill bottle rattling.

She sighed as the door clicked shut.

She flicked the light switch, her room plunged into darkness.

Her stroll back to her blankets was short, a few long strides at most.

She nestled into the heavy fabric, and lay her head on an actual pillow.

She looked at her parka that was hanging from the door, her mask hung from a clip on its side.

She sighed and curled into a more comfortable position.

**The next day.**

Maka stepped back, she eyed her black dress that was hanging from her door.

She had picked out a set of black heels that matched the short dress.

Her head cocked to one side, her outfit seemed perfect.

She sighed and turned to the clock in her room, it was still early in the afternoon.

She moved to the door and opened it.

The empty hall seemed almost welcoming.

After a few steps, Soul came out of his room as well, they eyed each other.

"I guess we're both ready." Soul muttered.

"We still need to actually get all dressed up." She reminded him.

"Yeah well we have the day to do that." He stated, which was true.

She shook her head slightly.

Soul began to walk towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going out for a walk," he stated, he gave her a half glance," you wanna come?"

She looked around the apartment, there wasn't much else to do.

"Why not?" she muttered, she moved to follow him.

The streets were fairly bare, though that didn't really concern them as they strode over the stone walkways.

The few people they did come across didn't seem to pay them any mind.

Their footsteps seemed to be their only form of company.

Maka eyed her feet.

"Hey Soul?" Maka called, he turned to face her.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Do you think Kid's still-" she tried, she searched for the right words, but for some reason couldn't," y'know."

He thought back to how Kid had acted when they had returned to the city.

Soul eyed the sky.

"I dunno," he admitted," knowing him, he's probably just biding his time."

Maka shook her head slightly.

"I don't like seeing Kid angry," she stated," he just doesn't seem like himself."

Soul nodded in agreement.

They walked in silence for a few seconds.

Soul shot a bored look to the side as they passed a street.

Soul noticed some people moving through the street towards them, he stopped in surprise.

It took Maka a few more steps to notice, she stopped and turned to eye him.

"What is it?" she asked.

Soul pointed down the street at the group of people approaching.

"I-isn't that them?" he blurted.

Maka gave him a confused look, she followed his gaze.

She almost flinched.

There they were, the Altered all moved in one group, though that wasn't what surprised them.

Seth and two women they hadn't met brought up the front, the woman on his right seemed confident in shorts and a tank top.

The other to his left wore a hoodie and jeans, the hood covered her hair and she wore some kind of visor and moved in an almost frightened manner.

Alexis was beside the confident woman.

Drake was beside the insecure one.

"W-what," Maka managed, she looked over the mob," where're their-"

She couldn't finish.

Both stared at the Altered.

Not a single one was wearing any heavy clothes other than Alexis, who only wore her brown pants.

Maka looked at Alexis' t-shirt like it was spouting death.

"This is weird." She blurted.

She searched the faces, one was missing.

"Echo's not there." Soul commented.

She nodded.

"They look," she tried, she searched for words," normal."

She noticed Alexis' posture, the girl was holding her bare elbows in a very insecure way, her eyes shot around every nook and cranny, her reddish hair was resting in such a way that it blocked her face from those they passed.

With every bystander she seemed to cower, she moved away from them.

The Altered continued their approach, a few seconds passed before they reached Maka and Soul.

"Hey," Seth greeted them," what're you guys up to?"

Maka couldn't bring herself to speak, she stared at Alexis.

Alexis noticed her gaze.

"What's with the look?" she asked, her voice seemed to lack her usual confident tone and wavered slightly.

"Nothing just-" Maka blurted, she trailed off and looked to the side.

Soul looked at Maka surprised.

"It's just that we've never seen you like this." Soul stated for Maka, his gaze shifted to Alexis.

He shifted his weight towards the Altered, the woman to the right of Seth stepped forward, her feet were evenly spread, her left yellow eye seemed to burn him, while the icy blue right froze him at the same time, he took a step back.

From this distance he could see that the left half of the woman's body was slightly more tanned than the right.

Similarly, her hair was white tipped, though only on the right side.

She obviously meant him harm.

The two looked into each other's eyes.

Seth rest a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Now now Tobi," he started," they're allies."

Tobi looked back at Seth for a moment, her gaze moved back to Soul, she relaxed slightly.

"I didn't like how he was moving." She stated, a silent threat lingered in her sweet but strong voice.

Soul eyed her confused.

"How I was moving?" he almost blurted, he managed to keep his thoughts in his head.

His eyes moved to the other woman in the group, she moved to hide behind Seth, she was acting like Alexis though on a more extreme level.

"So who's this?" he asked.

Seth turned to look at the woman, who had begun to shake slightly, he glanced at Tobi, who gave him a cross look.

"I think that can wait." He stated as he turned back to Soul, his tone told Soul to drop the subject," we'll all have time for introductions at the party."

"So you're going?" Maka managed, she began to move past the strangeness of the situation.

Seth turned to her, he nodded.

"We're on our way to Vlad and Elizabeth's now to get our attire." He explained.

"Vlad and Elizabeth are living together?" Soul asked.

"They're married remember," Drake mused, he adjusted his glasses and itched at the collar around his neck, his open black jacket failed to cover it completely," why wouldn't they be living together?"

Soul was about to reply, though he held his tongue.

Drake did have a point.

"So if you're on your way now," he started, looking back at Seth," where's Echo?"

Seth simply pointed above them, Soul risked a look, sure enough, there was Echo in all of his heavy clothes, he was talking to Shroud on a roof.

"He doesn't exactly like the streets," Seth stated," so Shroud's keeping him company while he moves over the rooftops."

"I keep forgetting about Shroud being with you guys." Maka admitted.

"Well he tends to cause that effect on people," Drake stated," he doesn't want to be remembered."

Maka and Soul both eyed him.

"Anyway," Seth cut in," are you two getting your things as well?"

Maka shook her head.

"All of our things are ready," Maka told him," we just need the party to start."

"Well we should get going." Seth stated.

"Maybe you two wouldn't mind coming along?" Alexis asked, Maka and Soul looked at her surprised.

Seth glanced at her, she gave him an almost sad look.

"Yes, why not," he agreed, he turned back to them," if it wouldn't trouble you too much."

"Not at all," Maka replied, Soul eyed her," we weren't doing anything anyway."

"Alright then," Seth replied, he and the two women beside him moved forward at the same time," it's not too far now."

Soul and Maka filed in beside Alexis.

"Thanks guys." Alexis whispered.

"No problem." Maka assured her as they kept moving.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, they arrived at a rather sizeable manor, it didn't have any form of resemblance to Kid's mansion or to any of the other houses in the city for that matter, but seemed to be another house taken from a different city and just placed in Death City.

It's brick walls held a red tinge and its roof was almost scaled and rippled like armor.

Its heavy front double doors had large windows in them, though they were stained so one couldn't see through the blue, red and green tiles.

"This is their house?" Maka asked in disbelief.

"Yes it is," Seth confirmed," if you want, Vlad can fill you in on the details, you'll just have to talk to him yourself."

They moved across the cobblestone walkway to the front doors, Seth knocked on the metal.

A few minutes passed before a tired looking Vlad answered the door.

He was wearing pajama bottoms with no shirt, his upper body was rippling with muscle, though he didn't look overly built.

On his chest was what looked like five, large claw marks from his left collarbone to the right of his abs.

The scars looked ancient as they had begun to blend with his pale skin.

Maka took note of his eyes for the first time, they were almost jet black with a layer of grey lashing through.

He sighed at the sight of them.

"Of course they show up now." He breathed, he turned and waved them into the house.

Maka noticed he had a thick, solid black bar tattooed along his spine all the way up to his hair and down below his pantline.

She eyed Soul as they followed the Altered into the mansion.

Almost immediately inside the doorway was a large stair case that led to the top floors.

Vlad waved the group past the stairs and through a door into the large dining hall beyond, the large table took up a lot of space in the room.

Sitting at the table was Elizabeth, her sunglasses were off and she wore a heavy robe of some kind.

She was eating a meal consisting of chicken and mashed potatoes.

"Look who's here." She muttered loud enough for them to hear, she didn't even glance at them however.

Vlad sighed.

"That's as good of a greeting you're going to get." He muttered with a smile.

He strode over to the table and kissed his wife on the cheek, he sat down beside her and turned his chair to face them.

The Altered immediately took seats around the table, they held their arrangement of people with the exception of Tobi and the hooded woman.

They moved in beside Seth, but only on one side, they sat next to each other.

Echo and Shroud moved past Maka and Soul, who didn't exactly know what to do.

They sat down as well.

Maka noticed that Shroud had two metal bracers of some kind on his forearms.

Other than some simple etchings, there wasn't much to note about them.

Vlad turned his attention to Maka and Soul.

"Aren't you going to sit?" he prompted.

It took them a few seconds to clue in.

"Right." Maka blurted, she moved towards two free seats with Soul in tow.

They sat down in the tall, padded wooden chairs across from Seth and the two women, they were seated in beside Alexis.

Vlad rose from his seat.

"I'm going to get dressed," he stated," I'll be back in a minute."

The room became almost uncomfortably silent.

Elizabeth finished her food and carried her plate and cutlery into the next room, she quickly returned empty handed.

She sighed and moved towards the front hall.

"I'll be just a second." She muttered.

The Altered all settled into their seats as if this had happened a number of times in the past.

Alexis even cracked a small smile, she had returned to her confident self.

The hooded woman beside Seth, however still acted insecure, she had pushed her chair closer to him, Tobi moved her own chair to help comfort the woman.

Maka watched as both Seth and Tobi muttered to this woman.

After what felt like an eternity, they convinced her to pull back her hood and remove her visor.

The sight that followed surprised both Maka and Soul as the woman's long black hair was waved from her hood and almost to the floor, it hung less than a foot from the checkered tiles.

She was the mirror opposite of Tobi, the right of her body was slightly more tanned than the left.

Her right eye shone yellow while her left gleamed an icy blue.

The left half of her long hair was tipped white.

She placed her visor inside her hoodie's large pocket.

Her gaze moved to them, she looked to one side and seemed to try and disappear into her chair.

Tobi noticed this, without even looking she knew what had happened.

She gritted her teeth and turned, she pointed at them accusingly.

"CAN YOU NOT STARE," she shouted, her voice boomed through the large space," she's nervous enough as it is."

"Tobi it's fine." The woman assured her, her voice was similar to Tobi's, though it lacked confidence.

Tobi turned to the woman.

"You sure?" she asked, the woman nodded.

The woman sighed heavily with closed eyes, she opened them and looked right at Maka and Soul, she swallowed hard.

"My name's Tabi." She stated finally.

She smiled at them, though it was obvious she was on the verge of cracking.

"Maka," Maka stated returning the favor, she gestured towards Soul," this is Soul, my weapon."

Soul waved to her, she hesitantly returned the wave.

Seth boasted a grin, he eyed Tobi, who gave him an annoyed look, she crossed her arms over her chest and turned away.

Drake gave a huff of amusement, he shook his head and adjusted his glasses.

Elizabeth opened the door and peeked into the room.

"If you all are quite ready," she began," you can start making your way to the dressing rooms.

The Altered all rose, the entire group excluding Maka and Soul made their way to the door.

After they had left, Vlad strode in, he sat across from Maka and Soul.

He now wore plain black pants with what appeared to be a white dress shirt.

An awkward silence crept back into the air.

"Nice place." Soul muttered.

"Thank you," Vlad replied," it used to belong to my family."

"Used to?" Maka repeated.

Vlad sighed.

"They're dead." He huffed.

Maka and Soul exchanged looks.

"Oh." Maka blurted dumbly.

She looked around, there were a number of what looked like cupboards along the walls, one had a space for decorations beneath it.

On said space, was a number of photos, among them was a large framed picture of two black haired boys, a slightly older girl with ginger hair along with a white haired boy that both seemed to tower almost a head over the other two.

They were all smiling, by the state of their clothes they had gone on some adventure, there were tears and splashes of mud on their clothes along with some scratches on the children themselves, in fact, the white haired boy had bandages wrapped around his chest instead of a shirt and the girl had her own bandages that could be seen on her right shoulder under her clothes, on both they were stained with blood.

Despite this, their smiles seemed the widest.

"Hey," Maka began, she pointed to the picture," who're they, your kids?"

Vlad moved to see what she was referring to, upon seeing the picture she was pointing to he chuckled slightly.

"Hard to recognise aren't they?" he asked.

She turned to him.

"What do you mean?" Soul cut in.

"That's us," Vlad stated," that's me, Drake, Seth and Lizzy."

Maka and Soul eyed him surprised.

"Really?" Maka blurted, Vlad nodded," But you all look so different."

She looked back to the picture.

"Wait," she muttered, she rose and approached the photo, she eyed the two black haired boys, they looked identical, though one had blue eyes and the other had red eyes, she pointed to the blue eyed one," Why does Seth have black hair, his hair's red."

She turned back to Vlad.

"Did he dye it?" she asked.

Vlad shook his head, he sighed.

"HE didn't." he stated.

He relaxed slightly and allowed himself to sink into his chair's padding.

"No doubt you've heard about his family being killed." He muttered.

Maka and Soul looked at him.

"Y-yeah but how'd you know?" Soul asked.

"For all her ferocity," Vlad began," Alexis is very predictable, especially with others."

Maka and Soul eyed each other.

"I'm guessing she left out a few details," Vlad continued, he balanced his chair on two legs and flipped his feet onto the white table cover," like how that was my family."

They physically flinched.

"But s-she said-" Maka tried.

"Yes, yes I can guess what she said," he assured them," no doubt she didn't expect you to find out that I'm with them."

Maka sat back down.

"Do you know what blood can do to one's body?" Vlad asked once she was seated.

They eyed him surprised by the question.

"Sure I guess." Soul managed.

Vlad shook his head.

"What about water torture?" he inquired, he eyed them sharply," Do you know what that does?"

They both exchanged looks.

"What are you getting at?" Maka asked.

A small grin cracked on Vlad's face.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked.

Soul sighed, he leaned forward and placed his arms on the table, he rest his head on them.

"Enough with trying to be all creepy," he muttered," We're here so why not just tell us?"

Vlad cocked his head, his grin persisted.

"Yeah," he started," why not just tell you how his hair turned red?"

His feet were brought away from the table, he rest them on the tiled floor.

"Let's start from the beginning." He mused.

Despite saying this however, his mind was elsewhere.

He stared at the photo of himself, Elizabeth, Seth and Drake.

The smiling faces looked almost alien to him.

He thought back to the circumstances under which that picture was taken.

**Fourteen years beforehand.**

Vladmir Sorn ran through the streets of Ken, his face had a large grin on it.

He weaved through the backyards of people's homes, jumping the odd fence as he did so with ease.

He made his way to his house, the large manor was one of many around the town, his family was rich after all, so a large house was expected.

He pulled open the large wooden door, it creaked slightly as he pushed past it.

He hopped on one foot to remove his shoes, which he lazily threw aside.

He ran to his father's study, he pulled the door open.

"Father look!" he yelled, he presented the large glimmering gemstone in his hand.

The people inside his father's study eyed him, he looked right back at them.

The two black haired boys glanced at each other, though Vlad was more interested by the girl with them, it was obvious she was older than them, she stood almost a head taller.

She looked right at him, her eyes were filled with hostility.

"Vladmir, good timing," his father stated," it's about time you all got aquainted."

"Who are these guys dad?" Vlad asked.

The girl looked annoyed.

"What do you mean GUYS," she shouted, she pointed at him," I'm a girl idiot!"

The two boys crossed their arms and looked at him.

"She's right." One said.

"She is a girl." The other finished.

Vlad's gaze shifted between the three of them.

"I don't like these guys." He thought to himself as he glared at them.

"Is that any way to look at your family?" his father asked in a serious tone.

Vlad caught the last word.

"F-family?" he repeated.

"Yes, these three are going to be living here from now on," his father explained," I'm sure you'll become the best of friends."

Vlad looked back at them in horror.

"What," he thought," no."

"If you wouldn't mind," his father began, he moved to his oak desk on the other side of the room, the thick carpet absorbed all sound from his footsteps," I have some business to tend to."

He waved them all away.

The three moved towards him, the girl and one of the boys stepped out of the study.

The other boy stopped in front of Vlad.

He eyed the white, shining stone in Vlad's hands, it was almost as big as Vlad's fist.

The boy swiped the stone from Vlad's grasp, it took Vlad a few seconds to respond.

"Hey," he yelled as the boy ran past him, he turned and followed the boy out," give that back!"

He moved into the hall, the boy was already gone.

He ran down the hall.

He heard voices on the other side of a door, he stopped and decided to listen in.

"Great job Drake," a girl's voice praised," we all know someone like him doesn't deserve nice things."

Drake snickered.

"It was nothing Lizzy," he boasted," the dummy probably doesn't even realise where we are, right Seth?"

"Let's just go," Seth sighed," this is all getting so boring."

"Alright," Drake replied," let's see what kind of food they have here!"

"That sounds good," Lizzy agreed," I'm game for that!"

The sound of footsteps moving away from the door followed, though quickly stopped.

"Something wrong Seth?" Lizzy asked.

"Hm, no nothing," he replied," I'll catch up to you guys later."

"Uh," Lizzy blurted," sure whatever."

Vlad clenched his fist as their footsteps got quieter and quieter.

"That rat." He hissed to himself.

The sound of someone moving towards the door caused him to panic slightly.

"Oh no," he thought," if he sees me he'll just warn them."

He moved down the hall a few doors, he reached the corner and hid behind it.

The door opened, one of the boys strode out, he boasted a bored look as he turned the way Vlad had gone.

After a few seconds he was beside Vlad, he stopped and turned to look at him.

The two stared at each other.

The boy brought out the gemstone, he eyed it closely.

Vlad watched as he did so, ready to take it back at any moment.

What he didn't expect is the boy extending his hand to him, stone resting on his palm.

"This is worth about forty nine dollars and fifty six cents." He stated with his bored expression leaking into his words.

Vlad looked at the blue eyed boy stunned, the boy gestured to the gem with his eyes.

Vlad slowly reached out, expecting the boy to retract his hand, but the boy didn't, he let Vlad retrieve his gem, he brought it close to him.

"T-thanks." Vlad managed.

The boy kept his hand where it was, it took Vlad a few seconds to clue in.

He shifted the gem to his off hand and grasped the boy's hand.

"Seth." The boy muttered.

"Vladmir." Vlad replied.

Seth blinked as they shook.

"If you wouldn't mind," Seth began, he started walking forward," I'd like to know where you found that."

Vlad watched Seth move forwards for a few steps before moving up beside him.

"Well there are some caves in the forest." Vlad admitted.

Seth glanced at him.

"Would you mind showing me?" He asked.

"Maybe," Vlad replied," but not until this weekend, I have other things to do."

"Of course, I can wait." Seth assured him.

They walked for a few more meters.

"If it isn't too much trouble," Seth began," your father said that we can have guest rooms as our rooms, could you show me where they are?"

"Uh sure," Vlad blurted," this way."

He moved through a door, Seth turned and followed him.

After a few minutes they had reached the guest rooms, names had already been placed on three of the doors.

"We have our own rooms?" Seth asked, his bored voice was replaced with a surprised tone.

"Well, yeah." Vlad confirmed," why wouldn't you?"

Before Seth could answer, Lizzy and Drake burst into the hall.

"There he is," Drake mused, " and he's with that kid."

"He must have tried to get the stone back." Lizzy guessed, she noticed the gem in Vlad's hands," so he did get it back."

She eyed Vlad angrily.

"How'd you get that back!?" she yelled.

He fumbled his words, she grabbed the gem and pushed him down.

He landed hard on his back.

He looked up to see her blue eyes flicker grey.

The large gem in her hand slowly began to crack, Vlad reached for it just as it burst into a heavy dust.

She brushed the layer of crushed gemstone from her hand.

"Why would y-" Vlad tried.

He growled, cutting himself off, he flipped backwards to his feet, he launched himself forward.

The girl sidestepped his fist, she tripped him and slammed his head into the ground with her foot.

He struggled to rise.

"Only those with the means to protect something," she began she turned to face him," should have anything at all."

Vlad rose to his elbows.

Blood welled from his nose along with a scratch on his cheek from the carpet.

A tear fell from his eyes.

"It took me so long-" he sobbed," to find that!"

She huffed in amusement.

"So you just didn't want your time to have been wasted," she mused," what a joke, you must always be wasting your time, you're nothing, you should have nothing."

She crossed her arms, she looked to the side.

"I guess this one's mine." She mused, she walked through the door with her name on it.

Vlad watched her go.

He pushed himself up and ran for his room, he locked himself inside for the rest of the night.

**Three days later.**

"Because mom," Vlad yelled for what felt like the millionth time," I hate them!"

His mother sighed, she leaned against the wall, her long white hair framed her face.

"Hate is pretty harsh." She told him.

"I don't care!" he yelled," It took me weeks to find that gem, I had it for a day and she destroyed it!"

His mother sighed once more, she shook her head.

"Vlad," she began," they're all very troubled, they've been through a lot."

"I've been through a lot too!" he yelled.

"Look Vladmir," she snapped," you haven't been yourself lately and I know how much you love those caves of yours, there are plenty of gemstones in them, take the three of them with you and find another."

"No!" he shouted, he crossed his arms and looked away.

"I'm not asking you to do it for you," his mother stated, he looked at her surprised," I'm asking for me, I'm worried about you."

He relaxed slightly.

"Please, the only way the four of you will get past this," she began," is if you spend time with each other."

He thought for a few seconds.

"Fine," he muttered, he looked away again," but I don't like it."

"That's readily apparent." His mother mused.

Vlad ran off.

He stood outside Lizzy's room, it was still early.

He knocked on the door.

"What is it?" a harsh voice asked.

He opened the door.

The sight beyond was not what he expected of the demon-girl.

She sat with a novel in her hands, her brothers were on the ground, Drake was looking up at the ceiling while Seth was drawing in a book, he was vaguely facing Drake and Lizzy.

They were all so boring in Vlad's minds.

He looked to one side, occasionally shooting his eyes in their direction.

"I'm going to the caves," he stated, he began to walk away," you're welcome to join me."

They all watched him go.

Seth made some finishing touches on his drawing, he closed his book and rose.

"You can't be serious." Lizzy mused.

"I am serious." Seth replied." I'd come too if I were you."

She watched him leave the room.

"Unbelievable." She spat as she moved to follow him with Drake in tow.

Out in the forest they walked, Vlad had a backpack on, a coil of rope and a rather large knife could be seen extruding from its pockets.

"I don't see why you'd need that stuff." Lizzy muttered.

"If you don't then maybe you should have stayed home." Vlad retorted.

She glared at him as they moved over some fallen trees.

They walked for a few more minutes in silence, during this silence they passed an obvious cave.

Lizzy stopped, she pointed to the cave.

"Why not go in this one?" she asked, the others stopped and turned.

"Because," Vlad sighed," I've never been in that one before."

She huffed in amusement.

"You scared or something?" she challenged, she crossed her arms over her chest.

He frowned.

"Not a chance!" he yelled," It's just that I know the other caves well!"

She shook her head.

"Sounds like the talk of a coward to me." She cooed.

He sighed explosively and began to walk towards the cave.

"Fine whatever," he huffed," if it'll shut you up for two seconds."

He entered the darkness with little hesitation.

"Was that really necessary?" Seth asked Lizzy.

She shook her head.

"Not really." She admitted.

The three moved to follow Vlad.

The cave was very dark, though Vlad had foreseen this and had a light source, a thick disk that was the size of his palm, it lit up at his touch, he clipped it to the loops of his backpack.

The cave's cold walls seemed to glisten in the light.

They walked through the empty stone halls, their footsteps echoed ominously.

Vlad stopped walking, the others followed his "lead" and stopped as well.

"Why aren't we moving?" Lizzy asked.

"I thought I heard something." Vlad stated, he turned to gaze the way they came," We should go back."

"Ha I knew it," Lizzy exclaimed," you are scared!"

"I'm not scared," he almost shouted, his voice echoed through the cave, he lowered his voice," I'm just being smart."

"Yeah right," she scoffed, she pushed past him," you're just looking for excuses to not be in here!"

Vlad gritted his teeth in anger, the two boys moved to follow their sister, Vlad saw no other option but to stay with them.

"I think mother may have had a lapse in judgement." He muttered to himself.

They moved in silence for a few minutes, Vlad swore he heard movement from the tunnels.

He eyed the three kids with him.

These noises were echoes yes, but they weren't in tandem with the moves of anyone in the group.

"Must be an animal or something." He decided.

A few more minutes of walking led them to a large, open area, Vlad's light only went so far, though they could more or less see the entire space thanks to light that crept through cracks in the ceiling of the cave, they obviously were close to the surface.

The far side of the room, however was held from sight with dense shadow.

The movement had ceased, though the group had stopped moving.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid." Vlad thought to himself.

His companions began to move through the murky shadows, it took him a few seconds to notice their passing, though he caught up with a few almost panicked strides.

They all seemed to scan the walls around them.

Lizzy stopped abruptly, the twins stopped at almost the same time.

Lizzy looked around as Vlad moved forward.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Either I'm getting jumpy," she began, she stared off into a shadowed area," or we aren't alone."

Vlad strained to hear, nothing made a sound aside from the group breathing.

Vlad unclipped the light from his backpack, he held it out in front of him, the darkness jumped back.

With one hand he freed the large knife from his pack, it was notched for blocking with a double edged blade, one was straight with a curve near the tip, like most combat knives, the other however was serrated on the lower half of the blade with a straight edge above this.

The knife was almost as long as Vlad's arm and weighted for the serrated side to be used as a cleaver.

Despite this, Vlad held the blade in his left hand, slicing edge out.

"Why do you have that?" Lizzy asked, staring at the blade.

He eyed her.

"What," he asked," gonna break this too?"

He began to walk towards the deep shadow, no light touched this space and probably never had before.

The floor crept into view, the shadow recoiled at Vlad's approach.

He looked around, the walls still hadn't come from their veil of darkness.

He heard a crunch, his foot had landed on something.

His gaze shot down, he couldn't clearly see so he lowered his light.

He moved his foot off of the bone on the ground, he almost jumped back.

Though cracked open for marrow, it was obviously a human humorus.

"What now-" Lizzy started, her eyes met the bone on the ground, she fumbled with her words.

The twins moved to get a look.

Drake dropped to his knees beside the bone.

He seemed to stare into it.

"It's not very old." He commented.

Seth nodded in agreement.

Something moved behind them, they all turned to look.

They saw nothing but empty stone.

Vlad had had enough.

"I say we cut our losses and leave." He offered.

"What do you mean losses?" Lizzy asked.

"Nothing," he quickly shot back," let's just go!"

She looked back down at the bone.

"Agreed." She sighed.

He eyed her surprised, he expected a fight to get her to leave.

He shook his head clear from the thought.

He began to move towards the exit, his foot crossed into the light from the cracks in the ceiling.

Something made a noise, it almost sounded like a large cat purring, his feet stopped moving, as did the others.

"Please just be my imagination." He thought.

He turned back towards the darkness, his light pierced it once more but revealed nothing.

Something scampered along the ground behind them, they spun once more.

Vlad began to move, the others quickly followed.

The sounds of movement persisted, this only served to hasten their retreat however.

They had almost made it out when something fell from the ceiling.

Its feet landed in the light, however halfway up its shins, the shadows returned in a sinister embrace, nothing could be seen.

From its feet, Vlad could tell it was human, or at least bipedal.

Its feet were covered in scratch marks, though that didn't really concern Vlad.

"That thing is in our way." He almost hissed.

The others turned to look at him.

He spread his feet and clipped his light back onto his pack.

He ran forward, his light bobbed.

The thing made some sort of clicking noise, it jumped up onto the ceiling.

Vlad searched for it, a sound was heard in some nearby shadows, he turned and leapt for them.

The clicking returned, the shadows were empty, another sound was heard above him, he looked up.

The thing dropped down, it swiped his knife away from him and shoved him hard.

He flew a meter into a wall, the blow was cushioned by his pack.

He rose, his light washed over what had attacked him.

His eyes widened at the monstrosity in front of him.

"What th-" he tried.

Its face was clearly illuminated, it had no eyes, they had been clawed out of their sockets, scars covered its leathery flesh.

Its left arm was completely gone, while its right was elongated, its fingers touched the ground despite it being barely hunched over.

It looked malnourished, ribs and other bones could clearly be seen.

Vlad eyed what could only be a mouth, the cheeks were cut, every sharp tooth could be seen as a long tongue slithered out to taste the air.

It flexed its fingers, they glinted in the light, Vlad looked down at them.

It was at this point that Vlad saw that it had no hand, what looked like metal claws took its place, each was a foot long and heavily notched from use.

They had eerie red stains on them.

He looked back up at the creature's "face" as it cocked, he felt like he needed to leave, immediately.

He shot a look to the side, there the exit was, he turned to his companions.

Lizzy seemed to notice the look on his face, she shook her head.

Though it was too late, his feet began to move before another thought ran through his head.

He shot one last glance at the creature.

It seemed to ignore him.

He ran for a few seconds, the darkness seemed to bore into his eyes.

He finally stopped and leaned against a wall.

His fist clenched and struck the stone.

"Why'd I do that!?" he hissed to himself.

He felt terrible.

"I left them to die!" he realised, he rest his head on the stone.

Sound echoed through the stone, he heard Lizzy yelp in pain.

He looked towards the way out, his teeth gritted.

"Screw it." He muttered, he began to walk down towards the entrance of the cave.

"Help!" the walls cried.

He stopped and looked behind him.

He shook his head.

"She destroyed my stuff." He muttered.

"But are you really going to just kill them for that?" a voice asked, he spun around.

"Wha-" he huffed.

"My, my," the voice continued, he felt something wet touch his cheek," getting jumpy there."

He sighed, it was only him.

He brushed the wet, black hand away from his face, it stained his skin like ink.

"Lay off," he ordered," it's not like you could have done anything."

"On the contrary," his pack began," I could've done a lot there."

He turned to look, sure enough the black liquid was oozing out of the zipper of his pack, it took a roughly round shape.

"I thought I had you sealed away." Vlad stated.

"Oh Vlad," the black cooed teasingly," forgetting the fight already?"

His eyes narrowed, he thought back.

He recalled getting thrown into a wall.

"So," he huffed," the bottles broke."

The black liquid began to mimic his features though not entirely, a head formed, but with black hair and ashen grey skin, its eyes had black sclera and white irises with grey lashing around.

Its teeth were jet black, though despite this, Vlad could see his own face looking back at him.

"Oh come now," it said," what's with the face?"

He looked at his doppelganger for a few more seconds.

"What do you want to do?" he asked, he looked forward.

He could tell it was smiling.

"KILL." It hissed.

"Fine." He huffed.

He began to move back towards his "companions" while his doppelganger sunk back into his backpack.

The sounds of combat echoed through the stone halls.

Vlad's fingers twitched.

"Anxious?" his pack asked.

He pondered the question.

"A little." He admitted.

He had never been in a real fight before.

He picked up the pace and broke into a run.

It took him a few seconds to reach the room again.

Lizzy had the thing's attention, meanwhile the twins were throwing rocks at it, it seemed that the thing had paid them some attention as Vlad noticed some scratches on their clothes, neither seemed scared, but they didn't look eager for this fight either.

Lizzy had retrieved Vlad's knife, she seemed to be able to hold her own with it too.

Though it was obvious she was losing ground.

Blood dripped from her clothes, she had been slashed in the midsection.

Vlad gritted his teeth and thought back to himself just a few minutes ago.

"I almost let someone die," he hissed," for breaking my stuff."

His pack chuckled slightly.

He felt sick with himself.

"I can't do that again," he decided.

The creature grabbed Lizzy and threw her into a wall.

She quickly recovered, but the thing was there in a second, its arm rose.

Vlad's feet moved before he could think.

He could see Lizzy close her eyes, he jumped.

His own eyes closed, he hoped he was fast enough.

The feeling of pain on his collarbone and chest told him he was.

He felt his pack fall, it impacted the ground heavily.

He planted his feet, standing before him was the monstrosity, it breathed into his face.

He fell to one knee, the thing seemed to spit at him, it leapt back up to the ceiling.

Lizzy was at his side.

"What are you doing!?" she shrieked," You almost got yourself killed!"

He thought about this for a second.

"So that's what a thanks is." He managed as he held his chest, he coughed, blood fell to splattered the stone.

Lizzy looked him over.

"Why'd you come back?" she asked.

He shook his head.

The thing landed a few meters away from them, the twins had made it to their side.

The creature seemed to look at Vlad with its empty eyes, it licked its claws, his blood still dripped heavily from them.

Vlad struggled to rise.

"What are y-" Lizzy tried.

Vlad ignored her.

"Ready Mir?" Vlad asked.

A chuckle emitted from his pack on the ground, his light sputtered and struggled to stay on.

"Always." It stated, the voice was similar to Vlad's, but almost sounded older.

"Wha-" Drake blurted.

A thick black liquid oozed from the pack, Lizzy shuffled away from it, it rippled over to Vlad.

"I can't really move." Vlad stated.

"Don't worry," the black liquid told him as its head formed," I'll take care of it."

It grew to be Vlad's size, the black liquid changed to mirror Vlad, its skin an ashen grey, its hair and teeth jet black, its white irises seemed to scan the area.

It looked at Lizzy, she stared back.

It waved at her before touching Vlad, it began to cover his skin.

"Wh-" she tried, words couldn't make sense of the ordeal.

After Vlad's skin was covered, the black faded to grey, his skin looked like a pile of ash.

He opened his eyes, they were no longer just black, white rings had formed in his eyes with black rings on his sclera.

He blinked and looked at them.

"Follow my lead." He ordered, his voice was now a mix between his own, and that of the black liquid.

The three of them looked at him as if he were a monster himself.

"Or not." He huffed, a grey pupil opened in the centre of his eyes, it stretched and became more animalistic, the rings in his eyes moved to surround this.

He leapt forward, with surprising speed.

The creature jumped to the side, dodging what seemed to be an attack.

Vlad wasn't moving his body anymore, he let Mir take care of that.

"It's moving too fast." He stated silently.

"I can see that," Mir retorted," we just need to be faster."

Vlad moved his gaze to the others for a second.

"Can we get my knife?" he asked.

"Of course," Mir assured him," but why would we do that?"

"If we're going to do this we're going to need them." Vlad stated.

Mir hissed.

"Not very enjoyable," it muttered," but true."

A grey tendril lashed out of vlad's arm, it splashed onto ground, Vlad could feel everything it touched.

It came across something metal.

"There." Both him and Mir huffed.

The tendril gripped the knife and threw it towards the others, it clattered at their feet.

"One of you put yourselves to good use." He hissed at them, his voice once more a mix.

Vlad saw Lizzy grab the knife.

He tried to grin, but couldn't, due to how he wasn't in control of his body.

The creature swiped at them, Vlad's body tucked around the claws, the tendril of black liquid had returned, it moved to wrap itself around the thing, though the creature simply ducked around it.

Vlad's right arm seemed to sharpen and grow, a blade of sorts formed around his arm, it shone in the rays of light.

This blade swung through the air, the creature ducked under the slash and rushed forward, the blade caught the creature's back, a brownish red substance oozed from the cut.

The creature raked its claws on Vlad's neck, he was carried through the air and into a wall.

Mir seemed to struggle to move Vlad's limbs.

Vlad felt the liquid on his face had dissipated where the thing had hit him.

"That's not good." He stated dumbly.

"I know!" Mir assured him.

A clawed hand ripped him from the wall and threw him down on his back.

The creature landed on top of his body, its feet on his arms.

The liquid hardened and spikes stuck out from its feet, though it seemed to ignore this.

It raised its hand.

"Damn!" both Vlad and Mir breathed as they both struggled to move the creature.

The creature began to slash downward.

What Vlad did not expect was Lizzy jumping on the creature's back, she stabbed it with the knife in her hands, this caused the thing to lose balance and pitch forwards.

Vlad's body flipped and got to its feet and immediately moved towards the thing that was spinning to rid itself of the girl on its back.

The blade on Vlad's arm grew longer.

"Liz!" both Vlad and Mir called as Vlad's body moved forward," Let go!"

The thing managed to grasp the girl, it ripped her from its back and held her by the shoulder.

Luckily, this was just as good as anything, despite her thrashing about giving herself new wounds.

"Hey!" Vlad and Mir yelled, the creature turned its head to look.

The blade on Vlad's arm soared through the air, it cut through the creature's forearm cleanly, it fell with Lizzy in tow.

She landed heavily and wrapped her hands around the claws on her shoulder.

She managed to get them to let go and threw the arm down.

The creature wailed, it swung the stump left of its arm at Vlad, who simply sidestepped.

The thing seemed to hesitate, it breathed heavily.

The blade on Vlad's arm shrunk back into his arm, the grey on his skin began to peel back.

Vlad was once more in control of his body.

He looked around for his knife, he noticed it was lodged in the thing's ribs.

A quick step forward was enough for his hand to grasp it, the creature didn't offer any resistance.

It seemed to try and say something, which stayed Vlad's hand.

"What are y-" Mir tried.

"Wait." Vlad ordered.

The thing seemed to hiss at him.

"Sssssss," it tried, Vlad's grip on his knife tightened," sssssoooouuulllssssss."

Vlad used what strength he had to pull the knife upwards, it sliced through the creature's ribs, collarbone and traveled up to its jaw and into the brain cavity.

He continued to swing the blade even after it had left the top of the thing's skull, blood sprayed over him.

The creature fell into a blanket of darkness, only its feet could be seen from the shadows.

The black liquid dripped off of Vlad's skin, he heaved a breath and fell to his knees.

He held the five claw marks on his chest and stomach with a trembling hand.

"You're looking even paler." Mir commented as it reformed into a copy of him.

"Shut it." He coughed, even though blood spewed from his mouth, a grin cracked along his face.

Lizzy had approached him, she stood over him, he looked up at her, his eyes were back to their normal onyx colour.

She looked very angry.

Much to his surprise, she punched him in the face, not hard enough to cut his lip, but enough to tell him she was pissed.

He looked back at her.

"What was that for!?" He shouted.

"You left us behind!" she yelled.

He almost rolled his eyes.

"Yeah well-" he tried.

He was cut off by Lizzy grabbing him, she held him close in a tight hug, he lost his words.

"Thank you," she whispered," for coming back."

A small smile crept onto his face, he wrapped an arm around her.

He pushed her off of him.

"Sorry to ruin the moment," he muttered," but I'm kinda bleeding here."

She shook her head to clear it.

"Right, we need to get home," she stated," now."

"Well I have some medical supplies in my bag." Vlad stated.

She helped him up, Mir took him and acted as a crutch to get them back towards the twins.

They both looked at them with teasing eyes.

"What're those looks for?" Lizzy asked.

"You two like each other." Seth stated.

"What!?" both Vlad and Lizzy shouted," that's so-"

They both stopped and looked at each other.

"That's – not important right now." Vlad managed as he was layed down.

Drake reached into Vlad's bag and pulled out a roll of bandages, he began to wrap them around Vlad's wounds.

Seth approached Lizzy with a roll of bandages, he began to wrap her shoulder up.

After a few minutes both were more or less patched up.

Mir sat looking at the feet of the creature in the light, he stroked his chin.

"What was that?" Lizzy asked as Seth finished wrapping her wounds.

"A kishin egg." Mir stated." A tainted soul on the path of destruction."

All of them turned to look at the Vlad lookalike.

"Who are you anyway?" Lizzy inquired," We still don't know that."

"Oh he's just Mir," Vlad stated as if that would explain everything," he's my friend."

The trio looked at him.

"Unbelievable," Lizzy huffed," details, I want to know who he is."

She turned to look at the boy.

"And what he is." She finished.

Vlad shook his head.

"To tell you the truth," he began," I don't know what he truly is, but then again, neither does he."

Mir turned to look at them, his white irises gleamed in the light.

"I'm just something he found in one of these caves," he stated," we've been watching each other's backs for years now."

"How come you look kinda like him?" Seth asked.

Mir looked back into the darkness.

"I dunno actually." He admitted.

They all were quiet.

"He doesn't want my parents to find out about him," Vlad stated," so I'd keep him in glass bottles in my bag until we were out of town, but they broke during the fight."

"Speaking of parents," Drake muttered, everyone turned to him," we should be going home."

"But with the bottles broken," Vlad began," we can't sneak Mir into the house."

They all were silent for a few seconds.

"Well," Lizzy began," how many bottles are there?"

**Present day.**

"Vlad!" Maka called a final time, cutting Vlad from his thoughts.

Vlad's gaze snapped away from the photo.

"Yes?" he asked, he managed to recall his mother's face when the four of them had returned home.

Elizabeth had managed to repair enough of the bottles to smuggle Mir back into the house, which was reason enough for him to forgive her for breaking his gem.

"You were saying?" Maka asked.

"Hm," he started," oh right yes."

He shifted slightly, he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"A long time ago, back when I was just a kid, my family and I lived in a sizeable town, we had a number of relatives that also owned property there.  
There was a beautiful and large fountain in the centre of town.  
It was a quiet town, nothing ever really went wrong." Vlad stated, he sighed." Of course, things don't always stay the way they are.  
One day, my parents decided to adopt some orphans, you no doubt know who these orphans were."

"It was the three of them." Maka stated, trying to move the story along more than anything else.

"Yes, that's right, it was them and we all became friends quickly.  
We'd all go outside and run around, there was a forest not too far from the town proper, that forest was our home away from home." Vlad told them, he shook his head." But how long can I just keep going on about how good we had it, might as well get to what your waiting for."

He sighed.

"Two years after they had come to live with us, a group of witches came into town.  
I'll spare you the many details and just say that they spent three days rounding up all the townsfolk and killing them, they put the gallons of blood in various containers, they even spent the time to make the fountain run the excess blood they apparently didn't need." Vlad continued, he closed his eyes for a few moments." I'd never seen the like before, even among witches they were cruel."

Maka and Soul turned to each other.

"How'd you guys survive?" Maka asked now interested to hear him out.

He eyed her for a moment.

"How else, all witches do something for their own reasons, these ones apparently needed some children for their experiments, we were the only ones they spared, they used their magic to detain us around the fountain." Vlad replied, he shifted his weight forward." Seth had managed to anger one of them, so they dunked his head in the fountain."

"After it started to run with blood?" Soul asked.

Vlad nodded.

"They would hold him down for obscene amounts of time, he'd always come up gasping for air," he continued," only to get a mouthful of blood right after, they did this long enough for his hair to get permanently stained red by the blood of the townsfolk."

Maka and Soul exchanged looks.

"Where is this town?" Maka asked.

Vlad cocked his head.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well," she tried," just curious."

"Well there's no point in telling you," Vlad muttered," town's gone."

"Well if it's painful to say then-" Maka attempted.

"Painful?" Vlad repeated," No, no, you misunderstand, I mean the town's gone gone, as in it no longer exists."

"Wha – how?" Soul asked.

"Let's just say that they held Seth down in the blood one too many times," Vlad offered," when he came up he used his Grey Eye wavelength without thinking, everything for miles was just leveled."

"He's that powerful?" Maka managed.

"Yeah, I mean, he was in a coma for a while but yeah." Vlad offered.

"What about the witches?" Soul asked.

"We hope they died," Vlad stated," but know that they probably got away."

Maka and Soul looked at each other.

"How do you know that?" Maka asked.

Vlad leaned forward.

"The four of us are still here aren't we?" he offered.

"So he's destroyed a town." Soul muttered.

"Two towns." Vlad corrected, they both eyed him.

"He's destroyed two towns?" Maka asked, Vlad nodded.

"This one was with Alexis," Vlad explained," though I wasn't there, if you want to know more about it, a nearby settlement thought it was a natural disaster."

He leaned into his chair.

"This time," he muttered," none of the townsfolk survived, only Seth, his partners, Alexis and Ko remained."

Vlad shook his head.

"He's a fool if he thinks he can keep going like this." He stated.

They sat in silence for what felt like forever.

Eventually Elizabeth peaked in through the door.

"You're still here?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," Maka managed," why?"

"Well it's about time for dinner," Elizabeth stated," I'd thought you would have gone home."

"What!" Maka yelped, she jumped up and looked around for a clock, there was one on the wall, sure enough, it was around five thirty." Damn, we stayed too long!"

She grabbed Soul by the shoulder and practically pulled him from his chair.

"Thanks for keeping us company!" Maka offered Vlad, he gave them a lazy salute.

"Anytime." He muttered.

Maka pulled Soul from the room, Elizabeth had to move out of the way.

"Hey, you're free to stay!" She stated as they almost bolted through the front door.

She sighed and turned to Vlad.

"You told them didn't you?" she guessed.

He shrugged.

"They wanted to know." He tried.

"I have told you not to do that," she almost hissed," especially to students."

He rose from his chair.

"Hey I left out most of it." He stated.

"And what parts did you leave in?" she asked.

"Just how Seth's hair turned red," he replied," and the circumstances."

She sighed.

"Vlad," she huffed," you are a grown man and my husband, I can't keep your mouth shut for you."

He raised his hands defensively.

"Alright, alright," he caved," won't happen again."

She leaned against the wall.

"Look, I'm sorry-" she tried.

"She's not." Mir warned him, Vlad felt the ink on his back move.

She shook her head.

"Fuck off Mir." She huffed.

"Still as feisty as ever." Mir replied, ink dripped onto the floor, Vlad winced slightly.

The pool of ink grew upwards into a copy of Vlad, he still looked as creepy as ever to Elizabeth.

"Can't you both just get along," Vlad asked, his gaze shifted from his wife to his copy," seriously."

"Well I might if he wasn't such an idiot." Elizabeth offered.

Mir shrugged.

"I'd argue, but she'd probably just repeat that." He muttered.

"Say that again." She challenged.

"Look just stop, both of you," Vlad ordered," for Death's sake it's like we're kids again!"

Vlad eyed them both.

"Alright," he began," we have to be at a party for a few hours, then we can do our normal thing after ok?"

Both Mir and Elizabeth looked to the side.

"Fine." They both agreed.

"Ok," Vlad sighed, he pointed at Mir," you are walking with me tonight."

Mir shrugged.

"Fine by me." He stated.

"I still don't get how you managed to get Lord Death to allow that." Elizabeth stated.

"C'mon," Vlad started," Vlad and me go way back."

"He goes way back with all of us." Elizabeth reminded him.

Vlad shook his head.

"Whatever, can you two put up with each other for the night?" he asked.

They both nodded.

"Good," he muttered," I've gotta get ready."

He moved towards the door beside Elizabeth.

They kissed for a second before he left the room.

"Love you." She told him.

"Love you too." He replied.

Mir faked a gag.

"You two are too lovey dovey." He chuckled when she glared at him.

She strode towards him and stopped a foot from him.

"No problems," she warned him," not one."

He raised his hands in a mock defensive manner.

"Alright boss," he replied," no problems."

She walked back to the door, she shot Mir one last look before passing through the doorway, the door clicked shut behind her.

Mir cracked his knuckles and looked around.

"Not one." He sighed before sinking into a puddle of black liquid, the liquid seeped through the floorboards and disappeared.

Vlad moved up the stairs, he heard Elizabeth talk to Mir.

Shortly after she left the room and moved towards one of the side halls.

Vlad sighed as he reached the top of the stairs, he passed a glass cabinet, inside were his various treasures.

A few knives, a couple guns, and a heavily engraved and jeweled sword could be seen on the various shelves.

All of these paled in comparison of what lay in its own miniature exhibit beside the cabinet.

He eyed it for a few seconds, he looked almost sad as he did so, but a smile crept back onto his face before he kept walking.

The white gem seemed to shimmer in the light, it cast rays of light in almost every direction.

**Author's Note:**** hi, it's me, Gorse.**

**God I hate flash backs, why did I write one?**

**Oh right, because I thought it had to happen.**

**The bad thing is that there are more to come… damn it.**

**So whatever, you learned a little something about Vlad, in this case you found out about his "weapon" Mir, which is pronounced meer for those who are wondering.**

**Don't worry, I'll explain more about him as time goes on… in more flash backs….fuck.**

**Anyway, long chapter, that's the most I've ever written into a single chapter of anything, beating my previous record of like, 10 000 words or something while this one is like, 12 400 something.**

**That makes up 45 pages excluding this note.**

**New record to beat…. yay.**

**Moving on.**

**So, Vlad's first kill, liked it, hated it, hated the flash back or whatever, let me know.**

**And there is a reason I didn't include the town being destroyed in that flashback, I hope you can guess it.**

**Oh btw, this chapter took way too long to write, I know.**

**I had writer's block for most of the time between last chapter and this one.**

**Anywho, next chapter is going to be…. started… soon.**

**And I realize I didn't explain a lot of things, why, because I'm saving that for later so don't start.**

**Man, school's just around the corner and that'll only serve to eat up my time.**

**Damn.**

**Oh well, I won't spoil too much of next chapter, but let's just say that some… interesting reveals are in store.**

** I think that's enough of a note.**

**See you next chapter, BYYEEE.**

**-GorseT**


	12. Chapter 12: The Party

You should always know your friends well,

I mean, who's going to help them after they've butchered a family,

Doctors?

They get money from your insanity,

Trust me,

Don't trust any of us.

-Drake McClissey

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

Maka stood in a rather empty space.

There was a good meter between her and anyone else.

Her short black dress swayed slightly.

She turned to eye the faces around her, none were the ones she was looking for.

"Where is everyone?" she asked herself, her black heels clicked on the tiled floor as she turned once more.

She had her hair curl behind her with two long curls framing her face.

Soul had followed her closely to the ballroom of the academy, though like the last time they were there, he chose to stand on one of the balconies and away from everyone else.

Unlike last time however, the Death Scythes were present, Azusa stayed near the exit, she eyed everyone, Justin was near the band, he removed one of his headphones to listen, he nodded approvingly.

Luckily for Maka, Spirit was nowhere to be seen.

"Then again," she muttered," Lord Death isn't here yet either."

She managed to catch a glimpse of Kid and decided to push through the crowd around her, not forcefully but enough that people moved.

A few seconds passed before she was at Kid's side.

"Hey Kid." She greeted him, he glanced at her.

"Hm, oh hi." He muttered, he was wearing a white suit similar to the one he wore when Medusa attacked the city.

Maka noticed he had been speaking to BlackStar and Tsubaki, who eyed her.

"Am I interrupting something?" Maka asked.

"Not really." BlackStar replied, much to her surprise.

BlackStar was wearing a white dress shirt that was half tucked in with a black formal jacket that was unbuttoned.

"Where's Soul?" Liz asked from beside Maka, she hadn't noticed her and Patty standing there.

"Oh, he's just on the balcony again." She stated.

"Again?" Kid asked.

Maka simply shrugged.

"I don't know why." She assured them.

Kid sighed.

"Well, at least everyone made it." He offered, though his eyes narrowed slightly," That is, everyone except for them."

He didn't need to elaborate, they all knew who he was referring to.

"They said they'd be here." Maka said as she searched the crowd once more.

It took a few minutes, but eventually she saw Seth.

She waved him towards them.

She almost fell over when he approached.

He was wearing a navy blue tuxedo with polished black boots, though it wasn't him Maka was looking at.

He had his arms wrapped around the waists of the two women she had seen at Vlad's mansion, Tobi on his right, Tabi on his left.

They were dressed in long flowing blue dresses that were cut in such a way that a single leg could be seen as they walked.

For Tobi this cut was on her left, while for Tabi it was on the right.

Even their dress shoes were the same, though neither wore heels, they wore dark blue dress shoes.

The way they were moving caught Kid's attention.

He eyed the two women, the only thing not symmetrical about them were the girls themselves.

Tobi held her head high, while Tabi tried to avoid the looks the three of them were getting.

The trio soon arrived at where the group was standing, Tobi and Seth eyed everyone.

"Nice crowd." Seth commented.

"Uh, yeah." Maka managed, Seth gave her a confused glance.

She really didn't expect any of them to look like that.

"Is something the matter?" Seth asked her.

"Uh no, everything is – fine." She stammered, she eyed the floor.

This awkwardness seemed to catch Tobi's attention, the woman eyed Maka.

"Kishin killer, no doubt." Tobi muttered as she looked to the side.

Maka eyed the woman surprised.

"C'mon Tobi," Seth started," enough with the hostility, we're here thanks to Lord Death's invitation."

"Yeah I know," she assured him," it's just no one told me there would be so many people."

The group exchanged looks.

"Wouldn't they know that that's what a party is?" Maka thought to herself.

Tobi sighed.

"Whatever," she began, she started to turn," I'm going for some food."

"Wha – no," Kid cut in, everyone turned to look," but you're symmetrical right now, if one of you leaves then you won't be!"

Tobi gave him a confused look.

Liz sighed.

"It's fine," she stated as he blathered on, she covered his mouth with her hand," he's always like this."

He continued to talk though no one could make any words out.

"Symmetry," Tabi muttered, her sister turned to look at her," I could go too."

Tobi sighed.

"I guess having you won't hurt." She muttered, she pushed past Seth and wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders, she led her away from the group.

"Nice Kid," Liz began, she uncovered his mouth," you lost Seth his dates."

Kid looked at Seth.

"Oh, sorry." He said dumbly.

Seth waved the apology away.

"Ah don't worry about it," he replied," Tobi probably wanted an excuse to get Tabi out of here anyway."

"So their names are Tobi and Tabi," Tsubaki muttered," very nice."

Seth smiled politely.

"I'm sure they'd appreciate that," he stated," they haven't exactly had the best of times when it comes to people."

"So where's everyone else?" Maka asked.

"They're on their way," Seth assured her," though they didn't want to show up all at once."

Maka and Kid exchanged looks.

"Why not?" Kid asked.

Seth shrugged.

"Old habits die hard I guess," he offered," on some missions we'd do this to make it look like we weren't involved with each other."

"Is that why you arrived first?" Tsubaki asked.

"I'm not the first one here actually," Seth admitted," Face and Echo have been here for a while."

"Really, I haven't seen them." Maka stated.

"Well that's not too surprising," Seth replied, he crossed his arms over his chest," those two can hide in plain sight."

Seth closed his eyes for a moment.

"But, if you know where to look," he muttered, he opened his eyes, they were a cool grey once more, he pointed towards the band and the exit with his hands," Echo is near the band and Face is near Azusa."

"That's a pretty handy skill." Kid commented, Seth looked at him, his eyes had returned to their normal blue.

"Why thank you, I think that may be the first nice thing you've said to me since I arrived in the city." Seth replied, despite the comment, he sounded dead serious.

The group continued to talk to Seth for a while longer, meanwhile Soul looked out at the city.

He sighed.

"Man, this party is too formal for me." He muttered to himself as he eyed the city beneath him.

He heard footsteps behind him getting closer, he half expected it to be Maka coming to get him.

He turned and was surprised to see that it was one of Seth's partners coming towards him.

She was looking behind her and didn't seem to notice him.

He noticed her hair was white tipped on the left side, he remembered that this one was named Tabi.

He also recalled her general awkwardness in the presence of other people.

She turned, upon noticing him she almost jumped back.

He raised his hands defensively.

"Hey, it's alright," he stated," I'm the only one here."

She seemed to try to take a step back, but a glance behind her reminded her of the entire room being filled with people.

She looked on the verge of tears.

"Are you ok?" Soul asked.

She shook her head.

"No," she almost sobbed," I can't find my sister."

"Well why not look for her?" Soul prompted.

"I can't," she managed," there's – so many people."

Soul looked into the room, although he tried, he couldn't pick Tobi out from the crowd.

He sighed and began to walk towards the crowd.

"Well, balcony's yours if you want to be alone." He stated.

He moved past her.

"No wait," she stammered, he stopped and turned, she glanced at him," what if I don't want to be alone?"

He arched a brow.

"I'm not a people person," she admitted," b-but I don't like being by myself either."

Soul shook his head.

"Please don't leave." She managed.

He stood there for a few seconds looking the woman over, she stood over a full head taller than him and he had to admit she was very pretty.

Despite this, he didn't really want to stay, though her pleading didn't make him want to leave either.

Finally, he strode back over to the balcony.

"Fine," he sighed, he leaned back onto the railing," I'll stay."

Her gaze shot to him, a look of surprise was plastered on her face.

"R-really?" she asked.

He slowly nodded.

She took a few steps towards him, before he knew it, she was leaning onto the railing like him, though about a meter away from him.

He glanced at her, noticing that she was simply copying him.

They stayed in silence for what felt like forever.

"So," Soul began, her eyes seemed to nervously wash over him," why'd you decide to stay here, with me here I mean."

He turned to look at her, surprisingly she was looking him right in the eye.

"Your blood," she muttered, she looked out at the city once more," it looks nice."

He looked at her, he was baffled by the answer.

He managed to pull his eyes away from the woman and back out to the city.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." He thought to himself.

The silence returned, though not for as long as the last time.

"Hey," the woman called, he glanced at her," what's it like being a student?"

Tobi burst into the group, cutting Seth off.

"I lost her!" She almost yelled.

Seth simply sighed.

"How," he asked," she was right with you!"

"I don't know," Tobi stated," someone bumped into me, I turned to see who, I look back and she's gone!"

Seth looked around, given his height he could look over most people.

He sighed and shut his eyes once more.

He pointed in the direction of the balcony.

"She's there," he stated," she's with Soul."

Tobi looked almost angry.

"Why is he with her?" she almost spat.

"Hey he probably was already there." Maka told her.

"Whatever." Tobi huffed, she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Seth sighed, he turned to Maka.

"You may want to go too," he stated," she's quick to jump to conclusions."

Maka sighed.

"Knowing him-" she muttered, though she trailed off.

She moved to follow Tobi through the crowd.

"She seems pretty protective," Liz muttered," Tobi I mean."

Seth nodded.

"She has plenty of reasons to be." he assured them.

Seth looked up at the ceiling.

"Those two have been through a lot," he started," with me there with them for most of it."

They all looked at him, this was strange behaviour for him as far as they could tell.

Maka brushed past a few people in her way, she looked around.

"Where'd she go?" she asked herself.

She moved forward a few more steps and cleared the crowd, stopping once more to look.

She could see the balcony, it wasn't that far away.

She saw Soul talking with Tabi, though Tobi was nowhere to be seen.

She took a step towards them.

"It's been such a long time." Tobi's voice stated from behind her.

Maka almost jumped out of her skin, she turned.

Sure enough, there was Tobi, she wasn't even looking at Maka, instead she seemed to be watching her sister with Soul.

"What has?" Maka asked.

Tobi's eyes flicked to Maka for a second before returning to the balcony.

"See for yourself." She instructed.

Maka arched a brow, but nonetheless turned to look.

The scene before her seemed normal, Soul and Tabi were just talking.

"What's so-" Maka tried.

Tobi sighed.

"She's smiling." She stated.

Maka took a closer look and like Tobi said, there was a large smile on Tabi's face.

"Why him," Tobi asked, her eyes narrowed slightly," oh."

Maka turned back to Tobi, her tone worried Maka.

"Oh?" Maka repeated.

Tobi looked Maka right in the eyes.

"So, you had a run in with Medusa did you?" Tobi huffed.

"How do you know that?" Maka asked.

Tobi crossed her arms and looked away.

"Your partner," she replied," and you both have traces of black blood."

Maka cocked her head.

"I'm not the only one to make that observation am I?" She asked.

Maka thought back.

"Yeah," she muttered," Drake found that out too."

Maka looked back at her partner and Tabi.

"But he-" she tried.

"Could see your blood." Tobi finished for her.

When Maka turned, she noticed that Tobi had placed a finger on her left temple, she seemed to be pointing at her left eye.

Maka arched a brow.

"Drake's not the only one." Tobi stated, her left yellow eye seemed to flash." We have the same eyes."

Maka looked into Tobi's eyes.

"I thought you knew a lot about souls." Tobi muttered." You may want to visit a library more often."

Tobi began to walk towards the two on the balcony, Maka followed her.

"Having fun you two?" Tobi asked when she got close.

"Sister!" Tabi exclaimed, she practically jumped to hug Tobi.

"Easy there." Tobi cooed.

"Hi Soul." Maka huffed.

He noticed the look on her face.

"Hey." He muttered.

Tabi let Tobi out of her grasp.

"So," Maka began," what're you two up to?"

"Soul was just going over his past missions." Tabi stated.

Her behaviour confused Maka, she was acting completely different.

"Exaggerated no doubt." Maka muttered.

"Hey, most of its true." Soul chuckled.

Maka shook her head.

"Ready to go back to the others?" Tobi asked Tabi.

Tabi shot a worried look over to the inside of the room.

"N-no," she managed, her gaze moved to the floor," not really."

Tobi sighed.

"C'mon," she prompted, she led Tabi along the wall of the room," we'll go around everyone this time."

When they had left, Maka turned to look at Soul, who had begun to look out at the city once more.

He sighed and pushed himself away from the railing.

"C'mon." he huffed as he moved towards her.

She gave him a smirk.

"They're over here." She stated as she moved towards the crowd.

The doors parted, Alexis stood in the light, she looked at the ground.

A hand on her shoulder grabbed her attention, she looked into Drake's face.

"It's not that bad you know." He stated.

She hesitantly nodded before eyeing the floor once more.

Her grip on the handle of the case in her hands tightened.

She took her first step into the room.

Everyone had made it back to the main group.

Face and Echo were still nowhere near them however.

They were listening to Seth speak, he stopped midsentence and turned to eye the entrance.

"Well, well," he huffed," look who finally made it."

The group moved to try and see who he was referring to.

After a few seconds, both Alexis and Drake broke through the crowd.

Drake wore a simple black suit with a red undershirt and no tie.

His shirt's collar was unbuttoned to allow for the thick metal collar around his neck.

His right arm was still bandaged, though that could only be seen because the white gloves he wore didn't quiet reach to his suit.

Everyone's gaze moved to Alexis.

She wore a long red dress with red dress shoes, on her arms she wore long white gloves that went to her biceps.

Her hair was in a large, red bun with her bangs swept over her right eye.

She looked very pretty, almost even normal, though only at first glance.

Maka now saw why she covered most of her skin.

In the centre of Alexis' chest, just stopping under her collarbones, was a large stitch line, it traveled to under the fabric of her dress.

Surrounding this were large scars, they curved lazily before ending abruptly.

Her shoulders didn't look much better, it almost looked like she had stripes that curved under her long gloves.

Maka realised that this was the most skin she'd ever seen Alexis show, but even then it wasn't much.

Alexis noticed Maka's gaze.

"I-is there a reason you're staring at me?" she managed.

Kid sighed.

"You look nice." He stated, saving Maka from the question.

Alexis gripped her elbows nervously.

"T-thanks." She stammered.

"Vlad has Ko?" Seth asked, noticing her hands were empty.

She nodded.

"He took him when I came in." she stated.

"Vlad's here?" Maka asked.

Drake nodded.

"Apparently him and Lizzy arrived not too long after Seth." He stated," They said they'd come talk to us soon."

"Sooner is better than later." Echo muttered from behind Maka, she jumped at his voice.

"Ah, Echo," Seth greeted him," nice of you to join us."

Echo bowed slightly, he wore a suit that had a red jacket and grey pants, his dress shirt was white and he had no tie.

Maka noticed he had something metal attached to the back of his head.

"What's that?" she asked as she pointed to it.

He watched her face, the second she stopped talking he raised his left arm.

The heavy, metal arm looked very out of place, it had five slender fingers on the end, though the rest was twice as thick as his right arm.

Maka noticed that this metal arm was noticeably longer than his right one as well.

"That," Seth began, everyone's gaze shifted to him," is our greatest creation."

Drake huffed in amusement.

"I doubt that." He muttered, he took a drag from a cigarette.

Seth waved Drake's comment away.

"You see, Echo wouldn't be able to be here without that," he explained," it'd be too dangerous."

"So," Soul began, he turned to look back at Echo," that's not what his actual arm looks like."

Seth shook his head.

"No, it's not." He confirmed.

Drake waved to get Echo's attention.

"How's the static?" he asked.

"Better than voices." Echo assured him.

"What are you two talking about?" Kid asked them.

Drake took a drag from his cig, he pointed at his ears with his right hand.

Kid looked back at Echo, sure enough, he had what looked like hearing aids in his ears, they were connected to the metal on the back of his head.

"Echo can read minds," Drake stated," that blocks out his ability to do so by nullifying his wavelength."

"Unfortunately, he needs to be medicated for this," Seth muttered," and that disrupts his ability to hear, so he has hearing aids for that."

"All that trouble for him to just not use his wavelength," Liz muttered," couldn't he just stop?"

Alexis shook her head.

"No, his wavelength isn't exactly his own," she explained," he has no control over it whatsoever."

Everyone turned to Echo, he shrugged off their gaze.

"Man, I think hearing voices all day would drive me crazy." Soul muttered.

Kid turned to Seth.

"Where do you get these things?" he asked.

Seth and Drake eyed each other for a few seconds.

"We made them." They both replied.

"By yourselves!?" Kid exclaimed.

"I make the meds." Drake stated," and deal with the medical stuff."

"And I make the devices," Seth added," you've already seen our handiwork."

Maka eyed the two of them impressed along with Kid.

Seth jokingly nudged Drake's shoulder with his fist.

"This guy could make even the purest of herbs into a deadly poison," he stated," a real prodigy."

Drake threw the butt of his cig into his right glove, he quickly crushed it and dropped it into his pocket.

"Right." He huffed.

Vlad stepped into the group, Elizabeth was wrapped in his free arm, his other held Alexis' case.

Elizabeth wore a long black dress with her hair down, she wasn't wearing any glasses so her eyes were visible.

Vlad wore a grey, striped suit with a black dress shirt and white tie.

"Hello everyone," Elizabeth greeted them," enjoying the party?"

"Of course they are," another voice hissed, everyone other than the Altered turned," the prey is always calm when free of a hunter."

The sight behind the group confused Maka, there leaning on the wall was what looked like Vlad, though his skin was grey, his eyes were white with black sclera and his hair was black.

He even wore the same thing as Vlad, though his dress shirt was white and his tie black.

This newcomer pushed himself away from the wall.

"Ah Mir," Vlad greeted him," so this is where you went."

"I wasn't about to leave." Mir assured him.

"Everyone," Vlad began," this is my weapon, Mir."

"Demon Ink," Mir muttered as he took a bow," a pleasure."

Kid caught what Mir said.

"Wait," he huffed," Demon Ink, what's that supposed to mean?"

Mir chuckled slightly.

He pointed at Soul.

"Demon scythe," he huffed, he pointed at Liz and Patty," Demon dual pistols."

He pointed at Tsubaki.

"Demon weapons." He added with a slight grin.

"You've never heard of the Ink Meister," Vlad asked," man, I'd hoped that that had stuck."

Seth shook his head.

"Wait," Kid started, he pointed at Vlad," that's you!?"

Vlad's face lifted slightly.

"Oh good, so there is a record of me," he stated," where'd you hear the name?"

"On the Infamous Killers roll call," Kid told him," you were put to death years ago."

Vlad cocked his head.

"So that's the story," he muttered," huh."

"None of what was said about him was true," Elizabeth stated," well, his kill count was, but that's about it."

"What are you talking about," Mir hissed," they sold us short."

BlackStar sighed explosively.

"What's the big deal anyway," he asked seriously," you're all acting like he's a celebrity or something."

Vlad shook his head.

"Hey BlackStar," Alexis called, he turned to eye her," remember when I told you that I knew the world's best assassin?"

BlackStar thought for a moment.

"No," he admitted," but you said it was me right!?"

She shook her head.

"Well," she huffed, ignoring him," there he is."

Everyone looked at Vlad.

"You meant him?" Liz asked.

"He doesn't look that tough." BlackStar stated, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Do I hear a challenge?" Vlad asked.

BlackStar eyed him.

"No not at all!" Tsubaki cut in.

Vlad eyed her.

"BlackStar's fought enough of the faculty." Kid muttered

The group fell into silence.

Alexis randomly perked up, she looked around.

She finally decided on a specific direction, the entrance.

"I-is that-" she tried, she began walking.

They watched her go.

"Where's she going?" Liz asked.

Seth's eyes narrowed.

"It would appear that he's arrived." He muttered.

Maka cocked her head.

"Who?" she asked.

The Altered all began to move towards the entrance.

The group exchanged looks, Kid shrugged and began to follow them with the others in tow.

The Altered had all stopped a few meters from the entrance.

After a few seconds Maka saw a familiar face.

"Chrona!" she called, she moved forward.

He turned to look at her, he smiled slightly, though it faded when he noticed the Altered, they were conversing among themselves.

Maka and the others reached Chrona, he held his arm nervously.

"H-hi guys." He greeted them.

"Hey," Soul replied," where've you been?"

Chrona looked to the side.

"The hospital." He stammered.

"You feeling any better?" Maka asked.

He simply nodded.

The Altered moved forward, Alexis was closest to Chrona.

The two of them eyed each other.

"Oh, you guys haven't met," Maka began," guys this is-"

"Chrona," Alexis finished for her, she looked the boy up and down, he squirmed under her gaze," it's been a while hasn't it?"

The group looked at Alexis surprised as the other Altered greeted him.

He simply eyed them warily.

"Wait," Maka cut in," you all know him?"

"We met a long time ago." Chrona stated, his voice was surprisingly steady.

"So you do remember!" Alexis beamed.

"Look Vlad," Drake mused, he lay a hand on Vlad's shoulder," it's you."

Vlad brushed Drake's hand away.

"Shut up," he muttered, he turned to Chrona," hey."

The group eyed Drake.

"What do you mean?" Kid asked.

Mir filed in beside Vlad.

"I replaced Chrona." Vlad stated.

"Wha-" Maka blurted.

"It's simple really," Seth stated, cutting her off," Greg wanted to experiment with liquid weapons, his assistant had a child that she offered for that."

Vlad nodded.

"With Greg's base knowledge of the subject, he managed to melt down a demon sword," he added," and placed it within that child."

"Greg's assistant was-" Maka tried.

"Yes," Seth confirmed," the witch Medusa."

"So what happened?" Kid cut in.

"Almost right after the procedure," Vlad began," Medusa took him away, along with much of Greg's notes on the black blood."

"Where'd you think she got info on something like that?" Tobi asked them.

Chrona shook his head.

Ragnarok burst from Chrona's back.

"And here I thought we'd never see you idiots again!" he sneered.

Mir stepped forward.

Much to everyone's surprise he leaned forward to get a better look.

"I don't think we ever got the chance to meet," he stated," not that I'd want to meet my predecessor."

"What's he mean?" Liz asked.

"After Chrona and Ragnarok were taken, Greg felt his research into the liquid weapons was left incomplete," Vlad explained," so he joined myself and Mir."

"Really, you two are like them?" Tsubaki asked.

Mir shook his head.

"Not quite," he stated," unlike Ragnarok, I can move on my own, I was only put skin deep after all."

"Mir isn't capable of circulating through bloodvessels," Vlad stated," so Greg simply tattooed him into my skin."

"So that's what that bar on your back is?" Maka asked, Vlad nodded.

"You may think that Chrona and I are similar," he began," though in reality we are very different."

"Well of course we are." Chrona cut in, surprisingly he didn't seem threatened by the Altered.

Everyone exchanged looks.

"So," Seth muttered," are we all just going to stand here for the rest of the night?"

The others seemed to perk up slightly.

Everyone turned to move back to where they were.

A few steps in Alexis stopped.

She grabbed her head and gritted her teeth.

Drake was the first to notice.

"Hey Seth." He called as he moved back for her, his twin turned to look.

"Damn." He huffed he grabbed the case from Vlad's hands.

His partners moved with him.

Maka felt strange, her head began to throb.

After a few seconds, everyone in the room other than the Altered was holding their head in pain.

Maka opened her pained eyes, the sight almost made her immediately shut them.

Blood dripped from the walls, the partygoers turned from fresh faced teens to horrible monsters.

Their teeth were sharp, their cheeks were gone revealing every tooth.

Scars began to open on Maka's arms, flesh peeled away, she felt everything and it felt real enough.

She gritted her teeth.

Then, as fast as the visions came, they were gone.

She looked around the room, everyone was looking as well, various expressions of confusion and fear were plastered on their faces.

She looked around, the group seemed just as confused as her.

It took her a few seconds to realise that the Altered were gone, with the exception of Vlad, Mir and Elizabeth, though they seemed just as affected as everyone else.

"Where'd they go?" Maka asked.

"Who cares!?" Soul managed, he still held his head," The hell was that!?"

Vlad straightened, Mir placed a hand on his shoulder and seemed to be absorbed by his suit's fabric.

"I have to go." He stated before running out of the room.

Elizabeth didn't move to stop him.

Instead she moved to Azusa, who had herself propped against a wall.

"Are you alright?" she asked the DeathScythe.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Azusa assured her, she accepted Elizabeth's hand and was soon on her feet." What just happened?"

"Tell everyone to go home." Elizabeth ordered before moving for the door." You go home too Chrona."

Chrona simply nodded.

"Where are you going?" Kid asked.

"You're welcome to follow." She stated.

**An hour later.**

Maka subconsciously eyed the guillotines as the group walked through them.

It had taken quite a while for them to reach the Death Room.

She looked to the platform in front of them, Vlad was already there, talking to Lord Death.

When they reached the platform, she could hear the conversation.

"All I'm saying is this is proof that your keeping them all cooped up!" Vlad yelled.

Lord Death cocked his mask.

"Well we already had one incident with her on a mission." He stated.

"That's not the point," Vlad shot back," what if it was more than one of them or if she'd gone even a day longer!?"

Lord Death waved this comment away.

"We assumed she'd last a while longer." He stated.

Vlad sighed and turned to look at Elizabeth.

"Did you tell them?" he asked.

"I told Azusa to send everyone home." She told him.

"Well that's a start." Lord Death offered.

"What are you guys talking about," Kid asked," what was that?"

Vlad eyed Kid surprised.

"You don't know?" he asked.

"Obviously I don't!" Kid shot back.

Vlad sighed explosively as he turned back to Lord Death.

"You didn't tell them!?" he almost shouted.

Lord Death eyed him.

"I didn't think it was important at the time." He admitted.

Vlad shook his head.

"Uh," Maka cut in, everyone looked at her," what didn't you tell us?"

Lord Death shook his head.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have held this information back," he muttered," but there are things that I didn't tell you about the nightmare wavelength."

Kid crossed his arms over his chest.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Try the reason everyone with it is cannibalistic." Vlad mused," Or maybe how they don't turn into Kishin eggs."

The group exchanged looks.

Lord Death moved up beside Vlad.

"The nightmare wavelength as I've told you is very powerful," he stated," though there are many drawbacks, most of which I've already told you, though easily the largest drawback is simply the wavelength itself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Soul asked.

"Every single person with the nightmare wavelength has a craving for the flesh and souls of the living." Elizabeth stated.

"We guessed that much." Kid assured her.

"Yes but it's not for the reason you think," Vlad stated," they need to kill in order to stay alive."

Everyone eyed him surprised.

"By now you've probably realised that Lizzy and I are not weapons," he continued," therefore we don't have this wavelength."

"But," Elizabeth added," the others do."

"What do you mean by this?" Kid asked.

"The nightmare wavelength creates a split personality of a person," Lord Death explains," the person's soul itself dictates how prominent this personality is, for some it's barely there, for others it's their normal."

Vlad nodded.

"So is that what happened?" Maka asked.

"Yes, Alexis hasn't fed on a soul in quite some time," he replied," she lost control."

"Why does she need to eat a soul to stay in control?" Kid asked.

"The link between the person's soul and their own mind isn't very stable unlike normal souls, it weakens over time, but eating a soul repairs it," she told them," go too long without fixing the link and you'll eventually cease to exist."

"This is why every person with a nightmare wavelength eventually just turns into a killing machine if they don't take precautions," Vlad stated," luckily it's not very common compared to other soul wavelengths."

"So is that why Drake has to wear a collar?" Tsubaki asked.

Vlad nodded.

"Without that collar, he'd gut the closest crowd," Vlad told them," and not even bat an eye."

Silence filled the room.

"Though, Alexis' situation isn't any better," he continued," in fact, it may be even worse."

He eyed Kid.

"Tell me, what experiments have you seen so far?" he asked.

Kid arched a brow.

"You've got Drake, the multiple medical tools, the multi-weapon, there's Echo the mind reader, me the liquid weapon user" Vlad stated, he extended three fingers," there's Lizzy and let's not forget about Seth, the kid genius when it comes to magic tools, along with his weapons the cut up twins."

Maka eyed Kid.

"The cut up twins?" she repeated.

"Well that's what they are," Elizabeth stated," you think they were born like that?"

"The Blood eye and Grey eye wavelengths are very similar," Vlad stated," but the Blood eye only manifests in twins, specifically the twin of someone with a Grey Eye soul."

Vlad raised his right hand in front of him, he extended two fingers.

"Seth and Drake meet that criteria," Vlad stated, he raised his left hand and extended two fingers," Tobi and Tabi fit this as well."

"They have Grey Eye souls?" Maka asked, Elizabeth nodded.

"The thing is its impossible for two twins to naturally possess both of these wavelengths," Elizabeth stated," the only possible way for that to happen is for one twin to be resorbed before they're even born."

"So how'd that happen?" Kid asked.

Vlad eyed Kid, he shook his head.

"Simple," Vlad replied, he mimed holding a knife, he set this imaginary weapon in front of his face, as he spoke he brought his hand down," as children, Greg cut them in half, and mixed the halves together."

"Is that even possible?" Soul asked.

Vlad shook his head.

"He left their major organs intact," he assured them," anything that was expendable he pieced back together."

"This guy could put Stein to shame." Soul muttered.

Vlad shook his head at the comment.

"Moving on," he huffed," anyway, what experiment could Alexis possibly be?"

He scanned their faces.

"She has two souls." Maka muttered loud enough for Vlad to hear.

He snapped his fingers and pointed at her.

"Exactly." He confirmed.

"How can she have two souls?" Kid asked.

"Alexis has been through a lot," Lord Death cut in," let's just say her body isn't her own."

They all looked at him.

"Her body is about fifteen," Vlad added," her mind is around nine or ten years old."

They eyed him surprised.

"Don't be confused," Elizabeth started," it is her body, though she was born with dual personalities like most with the wavelength."

"The problem was, the two minds were in sync, polar opposites sure, but they were around the exact same amount of time," Vlad explained," they had such similar timing that they eventually melded into a third, which is the Alexis we know today."

He shook his head.

"Unfortunately," he continued," Greg wanted to see if he could tether a meshed soul to this third personality, while keeping the original soul intact, let's just say he succeeded, though there were many side effects."

"Because of the procedure, she had hallucinations, nightmares and more," Elizabeth added," not to mention it erased all of her memories permanently, reverting her mind to that of a newborn."

"She grew up quickly the second time," Vlad commented," though now if she loses control of herself, she doesn't have just one mind or even just two, she has three fighting for control at the same time and can act unpredictably, though her fear of blood, death and pain come through as visions for her and for anyone in the surrounding area."

"She's afraid of blood and-" Kid tried.

"She was," Vlad corrected," before her two personalities formed the third, one was scared of blood and pain, the other was simply scared of dying."

"Her normal self simply has a massive distrust of anything that has never been insane," Elizabeth stated," you may see it as her fear of others."

"So she's been going through all of that." Kid muttered, he eyed the floor.

Maka eyed Kid.

"She should be fine soon," Vlad assured him, Kid looked up into Vlad's eyes," though they can't bring her back until then."

"You know where they took her?" Maka asked.

"We planned for this numerous times," Elizabeth stated," in the event of a loss of control, the others move that person as far from pale souls as possible."

"So no, we don't know exactly where she is," Vlad stated," but if the others weren't affected very much, then she'll be back in no time."

Vlad turned to Lord Death.

"And she'll be sent on more missions." He muttered.

Lord Death shrugged at him.

"Well I don't have much of a choice now do I?" he asked.

Vlad shook his head and began to walk towards the guillotines.

"I'll see you all in class," he muttered," sorry for ruining the party."

They watched him go, he kicked the ground as he walked.

"He just feels bad," Elizabeth stated," he always did take their actions unto himself."

They all eyed her, she looked right back.

"I guess I'll see you all tomorrow." She muttered before moving to follow her husband.

The group all exchanged looks.

Lord Death coughed to break the silence.

"Don't worry," he began, their gaze shifted to him," I'm sure she'll be fine."

Kid sighed and began to move towards the exit.

The others watched him go for a few seconds before following.

"I hope she's ok." Maka muttered under her breath.

**Author's Note:**** hi it's Gorse.**

**God damn it, this chapter is terrible.**

**I am in no way, shape or form proud of this chapter.**

**The only reason is I HATE filler, absolutely hate it.**

**But if you think you can write any story without random filler and explanations you are very mistaken.**

**I couldn't even bring myself to have anyone freak out too much.**

**FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU**

**Anyway, I wrote this in like a day and was not in any mood for ANY bull from anything.**

**So medium sized chapter for you, I couldn't have had it shorter if I wanted.**

**I really need to find a balance.**

**Screw it, spoilers, action next chapter confirmed, though imma not telling you shit other than that.**

**So F it, you learned why Tobi and Tabi are how they are, whoopee.**

**And you learned a bit more about our dear .**

**Oo Chrona was set to be Greg's guinea pig, before Medusa left with him, it all comes full circle. (yay)**

**Don't ask me how I came up with that shit, I can't believe I wrote that either.**

**Not to mention how Greg is metal as hell, if you think cutting up two kids and attaching the halves together all wrong is messed up, you haven't even opened your eyes to see who he really is yet.**

**Yes, spoilers, GREG IS LOOPY AS SHIT.**

**I really do love him as a character, really he's awesome.**

**Love this chapter, hate this chapter whatevs, I understand.**

**Except if you love it, then I'd be weirded out.**

**Anyway, see you next chapter, BYYEEE.**

** -GorseT**


	13. Chapter 13

Power comes,

And power goes.

But those who keep it the longest,

Are set up for destruction.

-Vlad McClissey

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

**Two days after the party.**

Soul sighed as he shook his head.

He was leaning on a wall watching two students spar under the watchful eye of Elizabeth.

She obviously didn't want another 'incident' happening.

He looked around at the students, almost every single one was watching the fight intently.

He eyed the two students in the ring, BlackStar seemed to be enjoying himself, in fact, this was his third fight this morning.

"Hey," Maka's voice beamed from beside him, cutting him from his thoughts," what's wrong?"

He turned to look at her, she stood just a few feet from him.

"Nothing," he muttered, he eyed her," finally decided to show up huh?"

She gave him a cross look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

He pointed to the clock over the door.

"You're late," he stated," worried?"

She shook her head.

"No, not really." She lied, he could tell she was too.

He sighed and turned back to the sparring ring.

"Who's she trying to kid?" he asked himself.

He eyed the crowd for a few seconds.

The sound of the doors opening caught his attention, his gaze shifted.

Much to his surprise, Seth along with his partners walked in.

Seth wore black pants with no shoes as usual, though instead of just a t-shirt, he wore a black jacket that loosely covered his arms.

A few seconds behind him came Drake with a similar set of clothes.

They didn't seem to pay Maka or Soul any mind as they moved towards Vlad, who was helping a student swing a sword properly.

They talked for a few seconds before continuing on with what they were doing.

Seth, his partners and Drake all moved to lean on the wall opposite to Maka and Soul.

Soul noticed that Tabi had her visor on with her hood up.

She also had a rather large backpack on.

She seemed relatively normal the other day at the party.

He shook his head and turned to Maka, who was staring intently at the Altered.

He pushed himself from the wall and nudged her shoulder.

She eyed him.

"C'mon," he prompted," we both know you want to ask them about it."

He began to move forward, it took a few steps for her to move after him.

Seth and Drake were talking, though when Maka and Soul approached, their eyes moved to them at the exact same time, Tobi and Tabi were minding their own business.

"Hey." Soul greeted them when they were close.

"Hi." Drake replied.

Seth gazed at both Maka and Soul.

He noticed the face Maka was making.

"She's fine," he stated simply," though she won't be back here for a few days."

Maka and Soul were both surprised, they exchanged looks.

"Why not?" Maka asked.

"She's on a mission," Drake stated," don't worry, the others are keeping an eye on her."

Soul arched a brow.

"A mission?" he repeated.

Drake looked at him.

"Yeah," he confirmed," she's just killing some Kishin eggs, it's not that big a deal."

Soul tucked his hands into his pockets.

"So, Vlad says that you two were 'informed' of her," Seth started, he crossed his arms over his chest," condition."

Maka nodded.

"As well as some stuff on you guys." She told him.

Seth nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, I guess it's for the best," he muttered," can't keep everyone in the dark forever."

Soul eyed him.

"So what happens now?" he asked.

Seth shrugged.

"We just wait for them to get back," he stated," that's all."

Maka and Soul exchanged looks.

The sound of the door opening caught their attention, everyone in the group turned to look.

Surprisingly, Kid, Liz and Patty strode in.

Though what was more surprising was the person beside them.

"Is that," Maka started, she cocked her head," Mifune?"

Soul eyed the samurai.

From his hip hung his many swords in their mass sheath.

"Yeah," he confirmed," what's he doing here?"

Seth caught the name.

"Mifune," he repeated," the Infinite Sword Samurai?"

Soul turned to him along with Maka.

"You've heard of him?" she asked.

Tobi huffed in amusement.

"A man who throws swords all around the battle field and strives to use every single one," she commented, she eyed Maka," that style of fighting doesn't usually go unnoticed."

Maka eyed Tobi.

"If memory serves me on the subject," Seth began," he's the protector of a witch."

Everyone turned to him, he eyed them lazily.

"Is that right?" he asked, his voice sounded cold enough to freeze flame.

"Y-yeah." Maka confirmed.

He pushed himself from the wall and began to move towards Mifune.

"Oh no." Tobi huffed, she quickly moved to follow him.

Tabi glanced at Maka and Soul before shooting off after them.

"What was that about?" Maka asked, Soul shrugged.

Mifune had reached Vlad, they seemed to exchange greetings.

"Everyone," Vlad's voice boomed, the room slowly became silent, even BlackStar eventually turned to look, though not before punching his opponent one final time," some of you I'm sure have met Mifune."

He gestured to the samurai beside him.

"Thanks to his expert skills without a weapon partner," he continued," he has agreed to help us with our class, he-"

A knife flew through the air, Mifune tracked it's movement, he unsheathed a single sword and deflected it, the blade flew into the chainlink of an empty sparring ring.

"Seth," she heard Tobi yell, Seth straightened slightly," what the hell!?"

Seth simply stared into Mifune's eyes, with the samurai staring right back.

"Seth," Elizabeth shouted, she ran from the crowd," what are you doing!?"

He shrugged her question off.

Mifune took a few steps towards Seth.

"Have you got a problem with me?" he asked simply.

Seth straightened slightly.

"Not really." He admitted." Just a request."

"And that is?" Mifune asked.

Seth tucked his hands into his pockets.

"I want to fight you." He stated.

Tobi seemed surprised by this, Tabi simply took her hands from her hoodie's pocket.

Vlad shook his head.

"Look," he began, he turned to Mifune," I'm sorry I'll-"

Mifune presented his palm to Vlad.

"No, it's fine," he assured Vlad," let's just think of this as my first lesson."

Vlad's gaze shifted from Seth and back to Mifune.

He sighed and turned to Elizabeth.

"Fine," he surrendered," we'll be outside."

She put a hand to her face.

Vlad moved forward, he practically dragged Seth from the room.

Mifune moved to Seth's knife, it was still stuck in the chainlink of the empty ring, he gripped the handle and pulled it from the metal.

He eyed the blade before moving.

Tobi stopped him.

Maka and Soul moved forward, they were close enough to hear them talk.

"A blunt blade won't do any good." Mifune stated as he handed the knife to her.

She shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she sighed," he's always like this."

Mifune cocked his head.

Tobi gripped the knife, she moved out of Mifune's way.

He strode towards the door, leaving Tobi to shake her head.

Maka and Soul approached her.

"Hey." Soul huffed.

Tobi eyed him, curiously, she seemed to size him up.

She shook her head.

"C'mon." she ordered before leaving the room.

They exchanged looks.

Drake walked in between them, he wrapped his arms around their shoulders and pushed them towards the door.

"What's with the wait?" he asked as he did so.

Maka felt his bandaged right hand on her shoulder, it felt very boney for some reason.

Besides the bandages, it looked like a normal arm, in fact it looked slightly bulkier than Drake's left arm.

She shook her head clear of these thoughts.

It took them a little while to reach the front courtyard, by the time they got there, Seth and Mifune were already standing in position.

"Took you long enough." Seth commented.

Drake scoffed slightly and released Maka and Soul.

He moved to join Vlad.

Another person was there, he sat in his rolling chair and eyed the two fighters intently.

"Professor Stein," Maka blurted," what are you doing here?"

He almost lazily turned to look at her.

"Well, they passed me in the hall," he stated," and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn something."

Maka and Soul exchanged looks.

Drake brought out a cigarette he placed it in his mouth.

He flicked the tip a few times, smoke rose from the cig.

Maka had watched this, she never saw him take out or put away a lighter.

"What the-" she muttered.

The sound of metal clashing caught her attention, she eyed Seth.

Tobi was standing beside him, he looked like he threw something.

"Well if you're just going to throw it again I'm not going to get it!" she yelled.

He simply straightened.

Maka arched a brow.

"What's going on with these people?" she thought to herself.

Seth reached into his sleeves, he pulled what looked like spiked brass knuckles out of the fabric.

A flick of the wrists caused a blade to appear at the bottoms of these.

"Whoa," Maka blurted," what're those?"

Vlad shook his head.

"Not the weapons he's using." He muttered.

Maka eyed Vlad.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

The sound of Tobi sighing caught her attention.

Vlad walked forward.

The sight was fairly surprising.

Seth had his jacket off, he wore a normal black t-shirt underneath.

Though it was the amount of thin knives he had strapped on his arms that surprise her, he even had a belt lined with knives.

Curiously he was removing the loops of heavy fabric that held his knives and handing them off to Vlad.

Maka arched a brow when he even handed off the knuckles.

When he was free of weapons, Vlad moved back to join the group, he had atleast ten belts laced with nothing but small throwing knives.

Vlad reached the others and placed these belts down.

He turned to look at Seth once more.

Seth held out his hands to both Tobi and Tabi.

Tobi sighed.

Both her and Tabi shifted into their weapon forms and moved into his hands.

They changed into two handles, they were obviously for swords, though the blades protruding from them were barely half a foot in length.

Seth held these handles almost lazily.

Drake shook his head.

"He's always too curious." He muttered.

Maka eyed Drake for a moment.

Mifune shifted, he loosed his large sheath from his belt.

"I'd prepare yourself." He warned Seth.

He threw the large sheath into the air, swords flew out from it and stuck into the ground around Seth and himself, caution tape was wrapped around some swords making a sort of combat area.

Seth glanced at the swords around him.

He began to toss one of the handles of his partners into the air and catching it, as if bored.

He didn't look very skilled with them as he shifted slightly.

"What's going on?" Kid asked from behind Maka.

She practically jumped at his voice.

"Hey Kid." Soul greeted him.

Kid lazily waved at him, Liz and Patty simply eyed the two fighters in the courtyard.

"Elizabeth just let us out to watch," Kid explained," even though I'm a reaper she was hesitant to let me just leave."

"Well for one, you did arrive late." Soul reminded him.

"I guess." Kid agreed.

Seth shifted his stance slightly.

The blades of his weapons grew to be about three feet long each, he held them in front of him.

"He almost looks awkward out there." Kid commented.

Maka thought back to their first fight with him.

"He looked like that when we fought him too." She stated, both Kid and Soul eyed her.

She was, of course, correct.

"Oh quiet," Drake muttered," or you'll miss it."

Seth ran towards Mifune.

He dragged his partners through the air.

He swiped at Mifune, who simply jumped out of the way, he moved to a sword and grabbed it in his free hand.

Seth moved for him once more, Mifune couldn't help but be reminded of the first time he fought BlackStar.

He easily dodged once more, he swung his second sword at Seth, who got a slash on his arm.

Both stopped moving, they eyed each other.

Mifune slowly stuck his second sword into the ground.

He took a few steps away from it and gripped his katana firmly with both hands.

Seth eyed the scratch on his shoulder.

His reddish black blood barely seemed to flow to it as a single drop rolled down his arm.

Seth ran his thumb over the scratch, he took his stance once more.

Mifune leapt towards him, Seth seemed to track his moves, but stood his ground and blocked the attack.

The two warriors stared at each other.

They jumped back from each other.

Seth ran at Mifune the moment he landed, though the samurai was prepared for this.

He hunched slightly to grasp a sword.

He threw this new weapon at Seth's bare feet.

Seth sidestepped the attack and kept going, he slashed at Mifune, who dodged easily.

Mifune used his free hand to swipe the weapon in Seth's left hand away.

He slashed Seth's stomach with the back of his blade causing Seth to pitch slightly forward.

Mifune used this time to jump behind Seth, he gripped another sword and leapt for Seth.

Despite obviously recovering, Seth didn't move.

"It's over." Mifune stated as he slashed at Seth's back with both swords, the sharp edges were set for Seth this time.

Maka took a step forward, but was stopped by Drake.

The sound of metal clashing surprised her, she looked at the fight.

She had expected Seth to have blocked with his partner, but what she saw confused her to no end.

Mifune had completed his attack, he stood staring at Seth's back.

"What happened?" Kid asked," he hit him."

Maka noticed Seth had a slight smile on his face.

"Is that all," he asked," really, I'm disappointed."

Mifune rushed forward and slashed Seth's back once more with his second sword a loud clang was heard once more.

He strained to move the blade past the boy.

"Armor," Mifune huffed," I'm impressed, you saw this coming."

Seth chuckled slightly, his hair covered much of his face.

"Don't flatter yourself," Seth scoffed," I never take it off."

Mifune took a step away from Seth as Seth cracked his neck.

"I think that's enough play time," Seth huffed, his shirt was shredded on the back," time to get to work."

He gripped the front of his shirt and pulled, the fabric easily gave and tore, he threw the ripped shirt down.

He held an arm out to his lost weapon.

It flew through the air and was returned to his hand.

Maka noticed scars on Seth's side and abs, they were obviously battle scars.

His weapons' blades shortened once more.

He turned to Mifune, his back was now visible to the others.

"Well, look at that." Stein muttered.

Maka, Soul, Kid and Liz all looked in surprise.

"What – is that?" Kid asked.

Drake threw his smoke down onto the ground, he stepped on it.

He tapped his collar.

"It may look different, but it's the same." He muttered.

On Seth's back was what looked like metal armor, upon closer inspection, one could see that it only covered his spine, a dial could be seen at the base of the neck.

"That keeps my dear brother sane." Drake mused.

Maka eyed him.

"So that's-" Maka tried.

"Yep," Drake confirmed," I'm not the only one with a leash."

Maka's focus returned to Seth, curiously he was turning the dial on his back.

He cracked his neck.

"Let's try this again." He huffed.

He spun his partners in his hands, the handles shrunk slightly, though still protruded from both sides of his gloved hands.

Finally he flicked his hands behind him, the blades shot out and reached the same height as his head.

His feet were spread evenly.

"So that's why he was moving weird." Kid commented.

Drake nodded.

"Seth doesn't use his swords like normal ones," he huffed," he doesn't like the thought of hiding behind your weapon."

Seth turned his weapons in his hands.

It was at this point that Maka got a good look at Seth's swords.

They looked almost like oversized switchblades, the blades themselves were rather thick however with two edges.

Seth shifted slightly.

"I think an introduction is in order," he commented, he brought his hands close together," I'm Seth, the Garrote swordsman."

On this last point he touched his hands together and brought his weapons away, a wire now connected the two handles together.

He threw one sword at Mifune, who leapt to the side.

Seth pulled on the wire, his weapon returned to him, he lazily plucked it from the air.

He shot forward, both weapons seemed to be spines on his back.

He reached Mifune and swung, Mifune blocked this strike and dodged a second, he stepped on the blade of the failed attack.

"Not that bad of a surprise." Mifune commented, he shoved Seth back and kicked him in the gut.

He kept his foot on Seth's weapon, Seth pulled on the wire, but the sword stayed put.

"It seems you need two swords to fight me," Mifune huffed," well you're not getting this one back very soon."

Seth eyed the ground, he chuckled slightly.

"Just wait there Tabi," he instructed, he flicked his hand upwards, his weapon left his grasp, he held his hands out, a few seconds passed before two swords landed in his grasp, both were connected to the sword under Mifune's foot," We'll handle this."

Maka eyed the two swords in Seth's hands.

"Where'd the second come from?" she asked.

This earned her a laugh from Drake.

"Weren't you paying attention?" he asked," that's Tobi."

She arched a brow.

"Let me explain," Vlad cut in," Tobi and Tabi are both very rare weapons that can really only be formed by twins, Garrote swords are very hard to use and even harder to master."

He eyed the students.

"When they were cut in half and put back together," he continued," this changed their weapon forms slightly, they are now Split blades as well as Garrote swords."

"Split blades?" Maka repeated.

"A very rare weapon form for swords," Kid muttered," it sometimes is caused by twins being swords, though together they only form two halves and not actual separate weapons."

Drake nodded.

"Split blades are pretty much useless if both aren't being used at the same time," Drake added," the thing with Seth is, he's one of the few people to be able to use multiple Splits at the same time."

"Really?" Soul asked.

"Yeah," Vlad confirmed," if he gets Tabi back, this fights over."

Everyone's gaze returned to Seth.

Seth eyed Mifune.

"So, you're that kind of swordsman." Mifune commented.

Seth shrugged as he flipped the two half blades around, the blades themselves shortened slightly.

He held them in front of him, blades to the ground.

"C'mon." Seth dared.

Mifune shook his head.

"The second I move you'll get your weapon back." He huffed.

Seth smiled slightly.

"Alright," he muttered," I'll just have to make you."

He ran the edges of the blades together and leapt away from Mifune.

He landed next to a sword, he picked up the blade and through it, the samurai easily blocked this, he threw his own second sword at Seth, who simply stepped out of the way.

Seth ran around Mifune, throwing swords at the samurai as he went, the swords were all easily blocked.

Seth stopped in front of Mifune once more.

Mifune gave him a tired smirk.

Seth simply grinned at him.

Mifune grabbed a number of swords that had landed near him, he threw them at Seth.

Seth saw the swords, he tracked their movement and swiped them from the air.

One after another they were deflected, they impacted the stone.

After the last blade had hit the stone, Seth threw both halves of his weapon at Mifune.

The blades shortened enough to not even be there anymore.

Mifune couldn't move fast enough to dodge, his foot slipped off of Seth's other weapon.

Meanwhile, Tobi had wrapped around the samurai's ankles.

Mifune eyed the weapon for a moment before casting a glance at Seth.

Seth grinned widely, he mockingly tugged on the wire before roughly pulling on it.

Mifune's feet shot forwards and he landed on his back, Tabi shot back to Seth, who was already moving towards the downed Samurai.

Before Mifune could rise, Seth lay the tip of his weapon on his throat.

They eyed each other intently.

"A draw then." Seth muttered, he pulled his weapon away from his downed opponent.

He used his free hand to brush Mifune's sword away from his stomach.

Another inch and he'd have been in trouble.

Mifune nodded in agreement and struggled to rise.

Seth offered him a hand, which he accepted.

Tobi soon shot back into Seth's hand, he disconnected the wire between the two weapons and allowed them to return to human form.

Tobi stretched out her back.

"Man," she yawned," that wasn't nearly as exciting as I'd hoped it would be."

"You were excited?" Seth asked.

She shook her head.

"Not really I guess." She admitted.

Tabi placed her hands into the pocket of her hoodie.

"I thought it was kinda fun." She muttered.

Tobi wrapped an arm around her sister.

"I guess it wasn't too bad." She sighed.

Mifune watched the three of them talk.

A hand on his shoulder caused him to turn.

"So," Vlad began," how was the first lesson?"

Mifune shook his head.

"I'm – not sure." He admitted.

The others had surrounded Seth and his partners.

Vlad and Mifune both watched them congratulate Seth.

"I didn't win though." He huffed as Tabi handed him a blue shirt.

"You didn't?" Maka asked.

Seth sighed.

"It was a draw." He stated as he turned the dial on his back.

Mifune eyed the boy.

"He's skilled I'll give him that," he muttered, he turned to Vlad," but that attitude'll get him killed."

Vlad shook his head.

"He'll be fine," he assured the samurai," he just saw this as training."

Mifune nodded thoughtfully.

He began to move towards Seth, who was in the middle of putting his belts of knives back on.

"You're name's Seth right?" he asked when he was close.

Seth nodded and locked a clamp on his forearm.

"Why'd you want to fight me?" Mifune asked.

Seth stopped, he turned to Mifune.

"At first I wanted to see who you were," he stated," why you'd defend something like a witch."

Seth crossed his knife covered arms.

"I realise you must have your reasons," he admitted," so I'll let it go."

Mifune shook his head as Seth began to walk away.

"That doesn't answer my question." he stated.

Seth stopped and turned once more.

He eyed the samurai for a few seconds.

"I wanted to see if you'd be a problem." He stated before grabbing his jacket and slipping it back on.

The others left with him, they were talking about something, though Vlad and Mifune couldn't exactly hear what they were saying.

"Don't worry about him," Vlad huffed," or any of them for that matter, they'll be fine."

Mifune nodded.

"How'd the wound hold up?" Vlad asked.

Mifune shrugged.

"A little work out like this isn't too bad." He stated as he patted his stomach.

Vlad chuckled slightly.

"Welcome to the academy." He mused, he lay a hand on Mifune's shoulder before moving towards the entrance.

After a few paces he stopped and turned.

"Do you want help cleaning these swords up?" Vlad offered.

Mifune shook his head as he bent over to grab the closest sword.

"No I'll do it myself." He stated.

Vlad shrugged and continued to follow the others into the academy.

Mifune moved to a cluster of swords.

He sighed and looked up at the sun.

It laughed at him, though he simply smiled back.

**Author's Note:**** Hey, it's me Gorse.**

**At the time of writing the next paragraph or so I have yet to start chapter 13 of Blood Laced wine.**

**I was thinking of starting another story.**

**Now this may cause this one to get dragged out and I apologise for that, but I've been sorta blocked with this story.**

**It's not that I don't want to write for it, it's simply I'm finding it hard to keep this story civilized if that makes any sense.**

**I need more madness and brain matter smeared on the walls.**

**So in order to not just thrust the story any farther into the shitter, I've decided to subjugate my personality to silent hill.**

**I've been a fan of SH for quite some time and frankly, the "Western Hills" let's call them, don't exactly sate my appetite for madness and fear.**

**I'll leave those who actually keep up with SH to explain what I mean by that.**

**I'll create my own other world and monsters that will both calm me down for future chapters of Blood Laced Wine, but will also tell you a little about myself.**

**I have come up with a title, though I'm torn on using my alias or a random made up name worthy of silent hill.**

**I'm most likely going to use my "name" of Gorse T Aurn, though if any of you have any better suggestions before I get too far into writing then be my guest and let me know.**

**Any OCs you guys wanna send my way could be beneficial for both stories.**

**This isn't going to be an ego run I assure you, my ego ran AWAY long ago.**

**I will simply depict how I'd react in my own silent hill, complete with freaking out and copious uses of curses.**

**Before you ask, I'm going to construct the monsters and even my other world from my fears.**

**And yes, I have fears.**

**Well, that seems to cover everything.**

**Let me know how you take this information, I'll probably have started working on it by the time this has come out, though maybe not.**

**Either way this is to benefit my writing in the future, to act as a conduit for my insanity if you will.**

**I'll still continue with messed up shit in Blood Laced Wine, but I'll leave the stuff that applies to me around to affect me.**

**Filler of course will be a problem, but when is it not?**

**I'll have to make up a crime for me to commit of course since I haven't committed any sins to be trapped in Silent Hill….yet.**

**I don't have a date ready per say, though I'll probably go from BLW to SH and just upload them when their ready. **

**Anyway I've blathered about it long enough.**

**See you in My Own Personal Hill.**

**Other Note: ****yay chapter stuff.**

**What's up you guys?**

**This chapter I feel was rushed, but if you read through the other note like you should then you'd know why.**

**This is the reason my writing has degraded since the first chapter.**

**Instead of making scenarios better I'm finding myself trying to make them messed up and bloody.**

**And honestly, that needs to stop.**

**If you think this chapter's fine, alright, I understand, if you hate it, I understand.**

**Anywho, so, finally I got to reveal Seth's weapons.**

**FINALLY**

**Seriously, I had that stuff planned out for so long, but never found a way to really put it into context.**

**Writing this chapter has made me realise that I'm not putting enough combat into the story.**

**Not blood baths, but combat, there is a difference.**

**The Altered are all starting to grow in some way, but, we all know there's one that should be seen more.**

**Or I think so at least.**

**Alexis hasn't been shown doing very much for example, we saw her butcher a few things then get stabbed…twice…and pinned to a wall.**

**All I'm saying is there will be more chapters with missions being their main points from now on.**

**Not every chapter, but more of them, this will make things much easier for both me and hopefully you.**

**I don't know if I'm going to be posting the next chapter of this, or MY Own Personal Hill's first chapter next.**

**In fact I may hold off on posting any of that until BLW is done, which may be a while.**

**Now that all the serious stuff is over with…**

**I'd like to make a shout out to my buddy ShatteredSoul47.**

**He's the author of Soul Eater: Enter the Blood Meister? which is pretty good so far, you should check it out.**

**I feel like I should have done that earlier, but whatevs.**

**Oh that reminds me for some reason.**

**Not too long ago the series broke 1000 views! (yay)**

**I'd just like to thank all of you for this.**

**I've never had 1000 of anything before so thanks!**

**Anyway, I think that should cover everything.**

**See you next chapter, BYYEEE.**

**-GorseT**


	14. Chapter 14

When you kill to survive,

And survive for just that next kill,

There's one thing you learn to fear,

Just one,

It's a lot simpler than you think,

You fear yourself.

-Gregory Terrance Zorski

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

**Three days after Seth's fight with Mifune.**

Alexis shot up from the warm embrace of her own mind.

She looked around gingerly.

It took her a few seconds to realise she was in a house, and a few more to notice herself under the red covers of a bed.

She shook her head and moved to get up, only to feel resistance on her left arm.

She lifted the covers to see the large IV sticking out of her forearm and coiling to the drip beside the bed, along with the restraint keeping her arm in place, she saw the restraint move over the side of the large mattress.

Her right hand quickly undid the clamp on the restraint and almost roughly ripped the IV from her arm.

She slowly moved from the large bed and looked around the room, the lights were out but the light that streamed through the pitiful curtains over the window gave away that it was daytime.

This comforted her somehow.

She moved for the door, her feet caused the floorboards to creak, she stopped moving and listened for any sounds.

She heard what sounded like voices from the other room.

A few steps later and her hand was resting on the doorknob , which she turned.

With the door slightly open the voices could be heard clearly.

"-And I'm just asking where she is." A somewhat familiar voice stated.

She opened the door more.

A hand reached through the space between the door and the wall and grabbed her arm, she was soon pulled through into the other room.

The person tucked her arm behind her back and wrapped an arm around her throat, effectively keeping her from moving.

"Seems she was here the entire time." The person holding her muttered.

"You have no right grabbing her like that," another yelled, she turned to look at who, the boy had three parallel lines in his hair," let her go."

A name echoed through her head.

"K-Kid?" she managed, she stared confused at the young  
reaper.

The agent tightened his grip slightly at the reaper's outburst, stopping her ability to breath.

Her free hand moved to the arm around her throat, she almost weakly grasped the man's forearm.

The sounds of bones breaking followed, the crunch sounded almost sweet to her ears, but seemed drawn out.

The agent pushed her away from him and held his broken left forearm, a shard of bone protruded from the skin.

A second agent grabbed this one and moved him from the room.

She watched them go confused.

"Why are they moving so slowly?" she asked herself.

Kid asked her something, she didn't hear him, instead she eyed her hand.

"What's goin-" she tried.

Hands on her shoulders snapped her from her thoughts, Kid's face filled her view.

He seemed to try to ask her something, though no words came from his mouth.

She tried to read his lips, but they seemed too slow to be articulating anything.

A white haze started to fill the edge of her vision, she started to get dizzy.

She almost fell forwards, but Kid held her up, she heard his voice now, though it sounded like she was under water and just came out as dull echoes.

She pushed past Kid, he seemed to almost jump back.

Behind Kid was another boy, he was obviously older and very familiar.

Though he was looking to the side so she couldn't see his entire face, even so, it was obvious he was out of place.

Despite the other people in the room beginning to lose their colour and shift to a dull grey, this boy stayed perfectly coloured, his pale flesh obviously had been in contact with sunlight, but not enough for him to be tanned.

His long white shirt and black dress pants were absolutely clean, he looked like he belonged in a book or magazine.

His dull blue eye looked at her, he grinned slightly.

His curly ginger hair swayed slightly as he turned towards her.

The entire room stopped moving comepletely the moment she saw his entire face.

His right jaw and cheekbones were clearly visible, what looked like rotting flesh bordered the bones, his pointed teeth seemed overly white.

His right eye was yellowed slightly.

His smile towards her grew.

"Good to have you back." The boy chuckled.

She noticed his right arm was tucked behind him, though she didn't need to see it to know who it was.

"Greg?" was all she could manage before the haze filled her vision, only to be replaced with a yawning darkness.

Kid moved forward, still clutching his stomach from Alexis shoving him.

He watched her stare off into space for a second.

"Gr – eg?" was heard from her as she eyed the couch in the room.

She began to fall backwards, Kid moved forward and caught her, only to realise she had passed out.

He shook his head and looked at the couch, Drake looked back at him.

Drake tapped his cigarette over an ashtray.

"So you found her," he began as he took a drag from his smoke," now what?"

Kid looked at Alexis, she seemed almost peaceful.

He noticed she had bandages on her arms.

"Did she just-" he tried.

"I do believe so," Drake confirmed," what of it?"

Kid eyed Drake, who simply stared back.

"She does that when it happens." Drake huffed.

Kid's eyes narrowed.

"When what happens?" he asked.

Drake shook his head.

"That's not your problem." Drake stated.

"And if I made it my problem?" Kid challenged, he shifted Alexis in his arms.

Drake looked Kid up and down.

"You'd probably die." He replied.

He stuck his cigarette into the ashtray on the table.

"Now," Drake muttered as he rose," if you'll kindly give her back."

**Earlier that day.**

Kid looked around the training room, to him a very obvious person was missing.

"Alexis isn't here," he muttered," again."

"C'mon Kid," Liz huffed," don't make this into one of your obsessions."

"I'm not obsessed," he stated," just – worried."

Liz noted his tone and simply looked at him.

This was strange even for Kid.

"She's probably on her way back." Liz tried, though this only earned her a laugh.

"I'm sure." Kid huffed.

His grin didn't last very long however.

"C'mon Kid," Liz began," we've been standing around all class, you should talk to someone."

Kid looked to her, he sighed.

"I guess." He agreed.

He eyed the floor for a few seconds.

"Hey Kid." Maka's voice called, he looked up.

"Oh, hey." He muttered.

"What's with the face?" BlackStar asked from beside him, he turned.

"Oh, nothing really." He lied.

"Worried about her too huh?" Soul asked from beside Maka.

He turned to Soul surprised, who simply jerked his chin towards Maka.

"She is too." He huffed.

Kid sighed.

"Yeah," he admitted," I guess I am."

BlackStar turned to look at Tsubaki.

"Whatever," he huffed," I'm sure it'll be fine, c'mon Tsubaki."

He moved towards the crowd that was around a sparring ring.

They watched him go.

"When did he start caring?" Maka asked.

Soul laughed.

"Don't be so hard on the guy." he chuckled.

An awkward silence crept into the remaining five.

"Right," Kid huffed, they all looked at him while he eyed beyond Maka," I guess we'll just ask him."

Maka arched a brow.

"Huh," she blurted as she turned, only to see that Seth was leaning on a wall by himself," Seth?"

"Yes, Seth," Kid confirmed," notice he's alone today."

"Uh Kid," Soul cut in," hasn't he been alone since that fight with Mifune?"

Kid shook his head.

"No," he denied," if you recall his brother was around until yesterday."

"So Drake's been gone," Maka huffed," what is asking Seth going to solve?"

Kid looked at her.

"Well, I'd rather ask than not." He stated.

Maka pondered his words for a moment.

"I guess you've got a point." She muttered.

By the time she looked back up he was already moving past her, she turned to watch him go.

Liz sighed.

"I guess it was only a matter of time before he'd ask them." She tried, she shrugged then moved to follow her meister with Patty in tow.

After a few steps past them she stopped and turned.

"You two coming?" she asked.

"Oh, right," Maka stammered, she grabbed Soul's shoulder and pulled him forward," of course."

By the time they reached Kid and Seth, the two were already talking.

"Look," Seth sighed," just stop."

"Stop what?" Kid asked.

"I know you're worried," Seth assured him, his eyes flicked to the others as they filed in beside Kid," but you don't need to know what's going on."

"That seems a little harsh." Soul muttered, he crossed his arms over his chest.

Seth simply grinned at him.

"Doesn't make it any less true." He huffed.

Kid shook his head.

"Despite this," he started, Seth turned back to him," can you tell us anything?"

Seth sighed.

"She's busy." He stated.

Soul shrugged sarcastically.

"And?" He prompted.

"And," Seth repeated," that's all you need to know."

Kid sighed.

"You say that but-" he tried.

"Hey," Seth cut in," stop, she'll be back soon."

Kid eyed Seth annoyed.

The bell rang, all the students almost immediately moved for the door.

Seth pushed past Kid, not forcefully, but hard enough to get the reaper out of the way.

Kid watched him go.

"Well that was," Soul began, he searched for words," enlightening."

Maka shook her head.

"He has his own way of doing things I guess." She added.

Kid sighed.

"He did tell us something though." Kid muttered, everyone turned to look at him.

"He did?" Liz asked.

"Yes and his brother not being here helps with this theory," Kid stated," Alexis is in Death City."

Everyone other than Patty flinched.

"W-what," Maka blurted," how do you know?"

Kid raised a hand, he extended his index finger.

"First, if you'll recall what he said a few days ago, his story changed, first she was on a mission, now she's just 'busy'," he explained, he extended a second finger," and second, their seemingly sole medic randomly stops showing up around the same time the story changes."

Maka nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess," she agreed," but they obviously don't want to share that information for some reason."

They all nodded.

After a few seconds, Kid started moving towards the door.

"Uh, Kid," Liz called, he stopped and turned," where're you going?"

He shrugged.

"I'm going to ask them where she is." He stated before continuing on his journey.

**Present.**

Kid watched as Drake clipped Alexis back to the bed, he sterilized her IV and stuck it back into her arm.

A few seconds later he moved back towards the door.

Before he could move past Kid, the reaper stopped him with a hand.

"What?" Drake asked, he looked the reaper in the eye.

Kid shook his head.

"Why didn't you guys just tell us she was back?" Kid asked.

Drake sighed.

"Why'd you show up with two armed agents?" he retorted.

Kid began to reply, but held his tongue.

"That's why." Drake huffed, he pushed past Kid.

He moved to the door, just as his hand touched the doorknob Kid sighed.

"Is she going to be alright?" Kid asked.

Drake looked back.

"She'll be fine," Drake stated," I'd worry about that guy who grabbed her if I were you."

"He's already on the way to the hospital." Kid stated.

He eyed the sleeping Alexis, one question ate at him.

The door opened behind him.

"Hey," he called, Drake stopped from leaving." What happened back there?"

Drake shook his head.

"That's just a side effect of losing control," he stated," since I'm one of Greg's kids I guess I look something like him even with my black hair."

Kid shook his head.

"Has that happened to you?" he asked, he turned to look at the Altered behind him.

Drake shrugged.

"I dunno, maybe." He admitted.

Kid looked back to Alexis.

Drake's hand on his shoulder surprised him, he turned to Drake.

"C'mon," Drake prompted," you're starting to act like a creep."

Kid sighed, but followed Drake from the room.

Kid moved for the front door, Drake meanwhile turned the light off in Alexis' room and shut the door.

"Hey," Drake called, Kid stopped and turned," why'd you show up with security and not your weapons?"

Kid looked in front of him for a few seconds.

"I don't know," he admitted," I guess I didn't want to risk them getting hurt."

Drake nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess that was a good idea." He huffed.

Kid turned back to Drake.

"She is going to be alright though," he asked again," right?"

Drake nodded.

"Trust me," Drake huffed," she'll be fine."

"When's she coming back?" Kid asked.

"Well," Drake began, he rubbed his chin," she'll probably be at the academy tomorrow."

Kid eyed him surprised.

"Really," he blurted," she will?"

Drake nodded.

"She's been in bed for a few days now," he explained," not to mention she's damn stubborn."

Kid eyed the floor.

"So I didn't need to show up." Kid muttered.

"Ah, that just means you care," Drake mused as he lit another cigarette," but if I were you I'd apologise to the guy who got a broken arm."

Kid sighed.

"I guess." He agreed as he pushed the front door open, he paused to look back at Alexis' room before leaving the house.

Drake sighed once he was gone.

The door clicked shut.

He moved to a couch and sat down.

He glanced at the door to Alexis' room and shook his head.

Alexis tossed and turned, or as close to it as she could with one arm clamped in place.

Sweat beaded her brow as memories flashed through her mind.

It seemed like she was watching a movie, not actually doing anything.

However, the blood and bodies were all too familiar, even though the particular setting wasn't.

The place seemed to be some sort of ghost town, battered buildings surrounded her as she looked around.

An eerie red haze hung in the air, almost like a red fog.

She turned to one side, trying to see anyone else, though she couldn't.

A sound caught her attention, she spun to try and find it.

A person filled her view, a very familiar person.

She took a fighting stance, as did this person.

After a second she realized that it was her own reflection from a large window.

She relaxed, though not very much.

She looked around the empty street before inspecting herself in the glass.

She was fully clothed, much to her relief, though only in pants and a midriff cut off shirt.

She wasn't even in her bandages.

Thanks to this, she could see her skin clearly, and despite the haze around her, she could clearly pick out the grey.

She looked at her own palms, they were their normal pale flesh, her eyes flicked back to her reflection.

It stared back at her, it took her a few seconds to notice that it wasn't following her movements anymore.

Its head cocked to one side and it looked her up and down with its glowing eyes.

It seemed to huff disapprovingly and raised a hand to reach for her.

She watched as its palm met resistance, presumably from the glass.

Cracks lashed from the reflections palm, the window burst and shards of glass shot towards her, she raised her arms to block the large shards.

The glass seemed to bounce off of her hands with no wounds opening.

She peaked through her arms to see that all the buildings around her were gone.

A copy of her crouched over what she assumed from the slab of mutilated meat to be a corpse was all that remained.

The copy ripped an arm from the chunk of meat beneath it and raised it to its mouth.

It took a second to bite into the arm, the sound of bones being crushed rung in her ears.

It seemed to take notice of her for the first time, it turned to look at her, a shard of bone still hung in its sharp teeth.

The copy smiled at her, the bone snapped easily and fell to the ground, it landed with a thin sound, as if landing on marble.

The copy rose, she now saw that it wore some sort of dress, the fabric was largely shredded and the red was damp with blood.

The copy approached her, it dragged the hunk of meat behind it by what she could only assume to be the remains of a leg.

The copy stopped a few meters from her, it tossed the meat towards her and giggled when she took a hurried step away from it, blood spattered the floor where she had stood.

"Cute." Her copy giggled, it looked her right in the eyes with a smirk.

She simply glared at herself.

The copy's skin was its normal grey with signature glowing eyes.

"Having fun I see," she huffed," you leech."

Her copy sarcastically looked offended.

"How dreadful," it wailed," to call me that of all things."

Its smile returned and it giggled some more, the sound raked across Alexis' ears and she covered them with her hands.

Pain shot through her hands and forearms, she brought them away from her ears for a moment to look at them.

"W-what?" she managed.

Blood welled from the many cuts on her flesh, the cuts went from the tips of her fingers to about her elbows.

She'd seen this before, but didn't know when it had happened.

Her copy laughed once more.

"Awwww, just finding out I had some fun?" it huffed clearly amused with itself.

Alexis struggled to stay focused on anything other than her hands, the bones in her arms felt like broken glass with napalm in her veins.

"W-when?" she stammered.

"The past few days," her copy replied," one of them had armor on, that was tough to crack."

Alexis gritted her teeth, her left leg gave out and she fell, she caught herself with her hands, but the pain only doubled, she managed to stay up on one knee.

She glared at her copy, who simply smiled back.

"If you don't want this to happen then you should get out more." Her copy giggled psychotically.

"Fuck you." Alexis retorted.

A hand on her shoulder caused her to look back, her view was filled with her own, grey face.

"Awww, c'mon," the copy cooed," no pain no gain right?"

She shifted her shoulder to try and rid it of the hand, though her copy held firm.

"Let go." She ordered through gritted teeth.

Her copy smiled widely, it traced her neck with its finger.

"There's always the other way out." It hissed, it laughed loudly before pushing her forward.

She landed on her face, though instead of hitting the ground, she shot forward through the floor.

She stopped in a sitting position, a loud crunch was heard from her left.

This was followed by a crash on the same side, she turned to look only to see that it was an IV drip stand that had fallen over.

She was back in the room from before, the red blankets were thrown back from her rising.

She soon recognised this room as her own and sighed with relief.

She fell back into the pillows, the bed shifted and lurched to the left and she almost fell, though she moved her legs to catch herself.

Her left leg gave out and she fell forward however, she managed to rise to her right knee, she felt strangely embarrassed, though she settled for this rather than rolling out of bed.

She eyed the bed only to see that one of the legs was gone, she noticed something on her left arm, the heavy loop of fabric still connected her to the broken leg of the bed, which now hung loosely from the other end of the restraint.

She undid the clamp and let it fall, the feeling of fire crept into her arms.

She gritted her teeth and eyed them.

They were covered in bandages, though not her usual grey ones, these were a sterile white and only went to her elbows.

Despite looking normal at first glance, she noticed that these bandages were padded, they were holding things in place on her arms.

She turned her attention to her leg, which was tucked underneath her, she shifted to a sitting position and laid it on the wooden floor.

Other than a simple splint, her leg seemed fine, no cuts, though there were numerous bruises along her shin.

"What the fu-" she tried.

The door opening to her room cut her off.

"Oh good," Drake huffed," you're up."

She looked around her room.

"What happened?" she asked.

Drake waved her question away.

"Pretty self-evident if you ask me." He mused.

She looked at her bandaged hands, noticing that her knuckles and the backs of her hands were heavily padded, even more so than her arms themselves.

She nodded in agreement.

"Did I-" she tried, she stopped, eventually she looked at him," did I hurt anyone?"

Drake shook his head.

"No," he replied," we got you away from everyone before that, they took you egg hunting afterwards."

She caught on to his words.

"You weren't there?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"Nope, I stayed here with Seth until you came back." He explained.

She shifted slightly, she tried to rise, though quickly fell back down to the floor.

Drake moved forward, he noticed both the tilted bed and the toppled drip stand, red oozed from the nearly empty bag.

The blood from the bag crept closer to Alexis' feet, she moved her skin from the blood.

Drake sighed.

"Some psycho you are." He huffed.

She shot him a look, though he simply smiled back.

He approached her and grabbed the top of the stand, he righted it then turned to her bed.

"Rough night?" he joked.

She shook her head.

"You tied me to one of the legs," she huffed," what'd you think was going to happen?"

He chuckled slightly.

"Yeah I guess," he agreed, he stooped to offer her some help up," c'mon, let's get you ready."

He helped her remove her splint and her bandages before leaving the room.

Thirty minutes later she was showered and drying herself.

She had gritted her teeth every second the hot water had touched her flesh.

Blood had dripped from her hair and from some cuts that reopened, but had gone down the drain.

With her bandages off she took the time to eye her hands.

They were covered in scrapes and tears, though these would fade in time.

They weren't the worst thing to happen to her.

She recognised the patterns on her ripped flesh, a tooth mark here, a plain tear there.

"Bastard," she sighed," so I was fighting unarmed."

She gingerly wrapped herself in a bathrobe and limped into her room, noticing immediately that the bed was level again, with clothes thrown on top of the red blankets.

She arched a brow.

Her arms began to burn again so she decided to get dressed as quickly as possible as she limped towards the bed.

Ten agonising minutes later she was dressed.

She now wore dark blue shorts that almost touched her knees and a full, green tank top.

To finish the outfit, she had her heavy combat boots as well.

She was showing off more skin than she was used to.

She looked around for her heavier clothes, though they were nowhere to be found.

Her eyes did catch one thing though, a crutch leaning against the door to the hall.

She shook her head and limped over to it.

She opened the door and leaned against the doorway.

Drake was sitting on the couch smoking, as usual.

She gestured to her clothes.

"Really?" she asked.

He sighed, smoke rolled from his lips.

"I know," he assured her with a shrug," Seth and Lizzy thought this would help you cope."

Alexis shook her head.

"Right," she muttered, she reached into the room and brought out the crutch," but are you fucking kidding me with this?"

Drake shook his head.

"Hey I know you want to be your usual tough self," he stated," but walking around on that leg isn't going to help you."

"It's fine." She stated.

"You have a hairline fracture," he huffed," the fact that you're on it at all right now simply proves that you're stubborn, but you can't be on it all day like I'm sure you want to."

She crossed her arms over her chest, pain shot through her arms, she hissed at the feeling and held her arms out.

Drake rose.

"C'mon," he prompted," I'll put your stuff back on."

After what felt like an eternity, Drake replaced the splint on her leg and reapplied new bandages and dressings to her arms.

She clenched her lightly covered fingers, a dull pain itched at her hand as she did so, but she ignored it.

"What time is it?" she asked from the couch.

Drake wrung his hand under the sink, he turned off the water and glanced at his watch.

"Six thirty." He stated as he dried his left hand, his right was still bandaged itself.

"Then we need to go." She stated as she pushed up from the couch.

She stood uneasily and took a shaky step towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" he asked even though he knew the answer.

She sighed.

"To class." She stated.

He sighed and moved up to her.

He tucked the crutch under her left arm.

"I know I'm not going to stop you," he muttered," but please just use this."

She eyed his face, her eyes flicked to the collar around his neck.

For a moment she wondered what he'd be saying without it on.

She shook her head from her thoughts and gingerly gripped the crutch.

"Fine," she huffed, she looked around the room," where's Ko?"

Drake huffed in amusement.

"Poor guy's still in your room," he stated, she felt strangely sad that she hadn't noticed, Drake moved towards her door," I'll get him."

After a few seconds he returned with Ko's case.

To her surprise, he slung the straps over his own shoulders.

"Not trusting me?" she huffed, though he grinned back at her.

"Hardly, you shouldn't be going anywhere let alone carrying something," he retorted," I'll stick close to you today."

She nodded.

"Doctor and patient." She mused before hobbling on the crutch towards the door.

**In an unknown place.**

His eyes opened for what felt like the first time, light stabbed at his eyes, he realised he was still at his desk.

"Staying up is such a chore." He sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

His partner loosed a huff of amusement, he turned to her.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

She shook her head, her cropped jet black hair swayed as she did so.

"You're talking like you're young again." She stated.

He shook his head.

"If only that were the case." He muttered.

He cracked his neck and rose from his chair, he turned to the door.

His partner's blood red eyes followed him.

"Done with work?" she asked.

He nodded and gestured to his desk, which had large papers strewn on it.

Various illustrations of body parts were on them, the manner of the drawings was similar to schematics.

"I've gone over them a dozen times," he stated," though he sustained many wounds during his fight with her, the operation should turn out to have been a success."

"Do you think he'll talk?" she asked.

He huffed in amusement.

"Of course he will," he stated," even if he doesn't want to, it's all a matter of time."

His partner shrugged , her long white lab coat managed to keep her curves in check.

"To think they'd just sacrifice him," she muttered," and just to have the chance to test her."

He shook his head, he turned and moved to the kitchen area of the rather large apartment like space.

His partner followed.

"He taught them all the same way," he stated as he reached the sink, he turned on the tap and ran his hands under the water," with her being the exception to that, she's the only one who-"

"Who has the traits." His partner cut in.

He stopped for a moment before splashing water over his face, he looked up, his reflection in the mirror looked back at him, water dripped from his curly, ginger hair.

His dull blue eyes looked very tired, his lack of sleep was evident from the small bags under his eyes.

His skin, he noted, was very pale, which was good, his tan from the previous time he had left the facility had dissipated.

He yawned, his silver glasses shifted slightly.

He took the time to push them back up.

He dried his hands and turned around, he leaned on the counter space.

His partner looked him up and down.

"C'mon G," she prompted," he'll calm down again."

G eyed her, a slight frown formed on his face.

"He hasn't been calm for years," he stated," you know that Siya."

Siya shook her head.

"Well, we can attack him." She offered.

He shook his head.

"He knows us too well, he'll be prepared." G stated.

"Well, we'll improvise." She tried.

"That does not seem like a viable plan." He told her.

Siya sighed.

"So that's it," she huffed, she crossed her arms over her chest," we're just going to let him-"

"I didn't say that," he muttered, cutting her off," we just need to wait for the right time."

His eyes narrowed in her direction.

"And place." He added.

"So what," she asked," we just bide our time?"

He nodded.

"Pretty much," he stated," if I know him, he'll make his move against us, most likely sending the most powerful of them."

"We need to be ready for a fight." Siya stated.

"No," he denied," we need to be ready-"

He trailed off, he looked up at the ceiling.

"We need to be ready, for a war." Siya finished for him.

He sighed, but nodded.

"Who'll they send?' she asked him.

He eyed her, a small smile cracked over his face.

"I think we both know that." He said, he turned to look at the ploor.

She shook her head.

"Is he going to survive?" she asked.

"If he is," G started," he'll be awake and ready by the time it happens."

"That's – reassuring." She sighed.

She moved to one of the computer monitors that were placed across from the kitchen.

She eyed the feeds, one showed a boy in a hospital bed, bandages covered most of his body.

A girl sat next to his bed, her long bluish hair was tied back as she watched over her partner.

"This is him right?" she asked.

G nodded.

"Yes that's him," he confirmed," I'm sure he has a lot to tell us."

"It's been a while," Siya muttered, she turned to look at him," think I'll have to get my kit?"

G shook his head.

"I doubt they actually betrayed him," he stated," for all we know he volunteered."

She bit her lip.

"That would explain why they left him," she offered," maybe they knew we'd be watching."

G shook his head.

"If that's true than we have even more work ahead of us." He assured her.

He walked over to the monitors, stopping beside her.

"So, I guess we just have to wait," he muttered," for Kahl to wake up."

**Author's note:**** hi, it's me Gorse.**

**Ugh, I honestly don't like this chapter.**

**Even though it didn't seem like it while I was writing it, I find that I rushed it.**

**This is starting to become a bit of a problem, really.**

**Whatever, PLOT TO THE RESCUE!**

**So new people, yay, but you may ask "who're these people Gorse?" to which I'd reply "wait for the next damn chapter."**

**Srsly don't ask me about the plot until the series is over, though feel free to post your guesses as a review or PM.**

**Anyway, in case that last part blew past you, yes, I'm going to start the plot up again.**

**I'll try to keep filler to a minimum, though I feel I should incorporate the backstories of as many Altered as possible.**

**Anyway, just a word of warning, the series is going to start getting a little….weird.**

**Or strange, strange might be a better word.**

**I'm not saying that there's going to be more blood or gore or anything like that.**

**What I'm saying is the plot of the story is about to kick off, shit is about to become real, if you will.**

**Yes, the turning point has been passed.**

**If there's anything you guys want to learn about each character, just post a review or PM me, I might use your question to fuel scenes.**

**Oh sorry about the wait for this, I've been busy the past little while, most of this chapter was done for a while before I decided to scrap some of it and rewrite some parts.**

**So if this chapter seemed to jump around a lot, that's the reason and I'm sorry.**

**Despite this, it could've been longer in my opinion, though that's just me.**

**So, over all a short read for you, I guess.**

**Hope you can move past the flaws and focus on the good parts of the story, I'd really appreciate it.**

**Anywho, see you next chapter, BYYEEE. **

**-GorseT**


	15. Chapter 15

May those who work only for praise,

Be burned at the very site of their work,

They are nothing,

They deserve to have nothing,

Only those who work for results should remain,

Only we strive for a better future,

A future built one the flesh of the misguided.

-exact source unknown

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine.

**In an unknown place.**

G opened his eyes, the ceiling of his room mocked him.

He shook his head and looked to the side.

Lying beside him in the blanket's warm embrace was Siya, her back was to him.

There was a large empty space between them, though he was used to this.

She came into his room often.

He sighed and turned to the clock, it was off.

The power was out again.

He pushed his white blankets away from him and swung his bare feet onto the cold cement floor.

He curled his toes, gritting loose dirt along his flesh, before rising, he snatched his glasses from his night stand and slipped them over his eyes.

He shot a look over his shoulder to Siya before moving through the door and into the hall.

He looked over to Siya's door, which was across from his own.

It was still heavily dented from the inside and in need of repair, it was slightly ajar thanks to the fact that it didn't even close properly anymore.

He made a mental note to see to the repairs and turned towards the facility's power room.

It took him about twenty minutes to reach the heavy, almost vault-like door to the generators.

The air was cold, as per usual when the power was out.

He gripped the thick, circular handles in the centre of the door and turned it.

It creaked loudly and refused to move for a few seconds, he stopped and shifted his feet.

He tried once more, putting more weight into it than before.

The lock slowly and noisily turned, it took a few seconds for the pressure to release, but eventually he could turn the handle with almost no effort.

The door clicked loudly and he pushed it open.

The cold air rushed into his lungs immediately, he could see his breath.

The frost on the metal floor crunched under his bare feet.

He looked over the room, the massive room's catwalks were frozen solid, as were some of the many terminals.

Despite not even wearing a shirt and with only some light pants to keep the cold at bay, he simply ignored the air's bite.

He sighed and took a few steps forward, eventually he reached the first catwalk, the frozen metal seemed to try to cut his feet, though he quickly adjusted to the feeling.

He looked over the railing at one of the many ancient generators.

They had long since been scrapped for parts, some still had most of their belts and magnetic couplings.

A few even worked, though he didn't think he needed the parts just yet.

He idly ran his hand over the railing, the inch or so of ice seemed to laugh at him, thick icicles acted as sharp teeth for the frozen railing.

He moved to the Grid Room, all the while he eyed his frozen surroundings.

"It's a good thing this room never raises above freezing." He muttered to himself.

He ducked under the doorway to the room, the ice wasn't as thick, before it was over a foot in places, but in here it was barely an inch even in the most frozen of places.

He cracked his neck and approached the massive machine in the room.

It looked like a number of different kinds of generators had been simply smashed together and hooked up to a power grid.

Though, that was mostly due to the fact that that is essentially what it was.

He stopped a few feet from his creation, he ran his fingers over it.

Despite it obviously being off for some time, there wasn't a single speck of frost.

In fact, it felt almost warm compared to the rest of the room.

He sighed and turned to the tablet he had ripped apart and connected to the generator.

He thumbed the power button, though the tablet refused to comply.

He sighed and removed the front panel of the generator.

After some fiddling he managed to get it up and running.

It rumbled to life, which was reassuring.

Almost immediately he felt the air in the room shift, the ice around him began to crack and melt.

He replaced the panel and scratched the back of his head before turning to go.

"The batteries'll be charged soon," he muttered," then I'll see if I can get the chargers up and running again."

He walked across the catwalk he came, soon arriving back at the door to the room.

The section would stay frozen even while the generator was on, this he knew.

He moved through the doorway and gripped the door handle, the door clicked against metal, sending an echo through the halls.

G took the minute needed for the door to be sealed.

He tested the door by pushing on it, though the lock kept it in place.

He sighed and turned towards the stairs, he eyed Siya almost bored.

She looked back at him as she yawned, her tanned legs were covered in heavy pajamas, though she wore a rather flattering tank top.

"Chargers went out again?" she asked him.

He nodded as he moved past her.

She followed him, moving up beside him on his journey.

"Nightmares again?" he asked her, referring to her being in his bed.

She nodded almost embarrassed.

"Being around you seems to help." She stated.

He looked straight ahead.

"Right." He muttered.

She eyed him.

"Has the boy's status changed?" he asked her.

She shook her head.

"I took the long way getting here," she stated," the medical wing's chargers are still up and running, they're both fine."

He arched a brow as he stepped onto the first stair.

"The girl's still there?" he asked, she nodded.

"She's asleep right now," Siya stated as she too began the ascent," but yes, she's still there."

G shook his head.

"I told her we have plenty of empty rooms." He huffed.

"Perhaps her meister is important to her." Siya offered.

G flexed his fingers.

"That much is obvious," he agreed," which means he may be useful."

She nodded in agreement.

"Are the others almost ready to work?" he asked.

Siya eyed him.

"G," she began," it's seven in the morning, you've slept for less than four hours in the past three days."

He looked ahead.

"I hadn't noticed." He muttered.

"I'll take over working on the chargers," she stated, she lightly punched him in the shoulder," you get some sleep."

He eyed her.

"If you insist." He sighed.

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

They soon arrived at a hall that ended in many corridors, they lanced out in many random directions.

Siya turned a few degrees and moved down a seemingly random hall.

"I'll see you in a few hours." She called back to him.

He waved to her before turning ninety degrees to his left and walking down to his room.

It took him a little longer to get back, though he was taking his time.

Before opening his door he cast a look at the door across from his.

The dents seemed almost welcoming, though he shook his head free from this thought.

"That sort of thinking is only going to get us killed." He muttered.

He opened his door and entered his room.

**Inside The DWMA.**

Alexis seemed to try to shrink, her green eyes flicked from person to person.

She knew there was always this many people in the academy, but not wearing her heavy clothing made her feel, vulnerable.

She moved the crutch forward before hurriedly hobbling after it.

Drake huffed in amusement, she turned to glare at him.

He eyed her with a slight smirk, he glanced at his watch.

"We're going to be late." He muttered.

She frowned and looked forward.

"We'll be fine." She told him.

He chuckled slightly as she tried to move faster.

Maka leaned back on the wall of the training room.

Her eyes scanned the pages in her book.

She glanced at the clock, class was about to begin.

"You said she'd actually be here today," she began, she glanced over to Kid, he turned to eye her," right?"

Kid nodded.

"That's what Drake said." He stated.

Soul sighed.

"I'm sure she'll be here." He muttered.

Liz crossed her arms over her chest.

The door began to open, the group turned to look.

There was Drake, he was holding the door open for Alexis.

She hobbled into the room on a crutch.

Seconds after she got inside the bell rang.

"YES, MADE IT," she shouted, she turned to Drake," I told you so!"

The group exchanged looks.

"What was that?" Maka muttered, she'd never seen Alexis act like that before.

Drake held up his hands in a mocked defensive manner.

Alexis turned from him and to the inside of the room, it was at this point she noticed that her outburst had turned her into the centre of attention.

Maka noticed that she was looking at the other students in a panicked manner, her eyes shot from person to person.

After a few seconds she tried to back out of the room, though her legs failed her.

She toppled backwards and landed heavily on the wooden floor, her crutch fell beside her.

She rose gingerly and gripped her left leg, which was splinted.

The other students began to turned away from Alexis and begin the class.

The group quickly approached the two Altered, though Elizabeth made it there before them.

"Are you alright?" Maka heard their teacher ask.

Alexis simply nodded and waved her away.

Maka saw Drake shake his head.

He almost looked amused by what happened.

Maka turned back to Alexis, her state surprised her, along with Kid who was also looking the girl over.

Thick bandages covered her arms from the elbow down, her left leg was in a padded splint.

"It seems you were busy while you were gone." Elizabeth muttered as she helped Alexis to her feet.

Drake crouched to pick up the girl's crutch, which she accepted almost reluctantly.

She eyed Elizabeth.

"Well, I'm good now." She stated.

The others exchanged looks.

"If you say so." Kid sighed, Alexis turned to him.

"I do." She assured him.

An awkward silence crept into the air.

"So," Elizabeth coughed, breaking the silence," I'm sure you've all got plenty to catch up on, but class has started."

She led everyone away from the door and towards the sparring rings.

Maka risked a look at Alexis, the girl was happy to no longer be stared at by everyone, she even had a small smile on her face.

Though one thought mocked her.

Of course, she wasn't the only one.

"What happened to her?" both Maka and Kid thought.

Maka shook her head, she'd ask Alexis later.

For now, she'd just have to wait.

Drake looked around the room, he saw a lot of faces, but none of the ones he was really looking for.

He turned to Elizabeth.

"Seth and the others are out?" he asked, his sister glanced at him, she nodded.

"They left a few hours ago." She told him.

Drake nodded thoughtfully.

"Sounds like fun." He sighed, he hadn't left the city in a while.

He eyed the floor and adjusted the straps holding the case on his back.

A small smile cracked on his face.

"I'll get my chance." He thought to himself.

**In an unknown place.**

G snapped awake, an alarm of sorts blared in his ear.

He'd heard it a number of times before, he decided it wasn't a facility wide alarm.

He rose and rubbed his eyes, he reached to his left and almost slammed his fist into the device on his night stand.

It clicked and the tones stopped, he sighed.

"What?" he asked, still rubbing his eyes.

"I got the chargers back online." Siya's voice replied from the comm.

He shook his head and turned to look, his clock said that it was the afternoon now.

"And?" he prompted, he knew there had to be more.

Siya hesitated for a few seconds.

"Kahl's awake." She stated.

G threw his blankets off of him, he swung his legs over the side of the bed.

He reached for the comm.

"I'll be right there." He stated before thumbing a button, the call ended.

He took the time to get some clothes on, briefly pausing to grab a lab coat before leaving his room.

He turned down the hall, slipping his arms into the coat's sleeves.

He reached the large section of branching halls, he turned a few degrees and made his way down to the medical wing.

"Almost time." He sighed as he neared the room that Kahl was housed.

He pulled a medical mask over his mouth and pushed his glasses up on his nose.

He opened the room and entered the obnoxiously white room.

Siya was waiting for him just inside the room, she gave him a warm look, he noticed she was now wearing dark blue overalls, the top was unzipped and she had tied the sleeves around her waist to keep them from falling past her hips.

Her hands and cheek now had black smudges on them.

The tall bluish haired girl beside Kahl's bed turned to look at him, it was obvious from her red eyes that she had been crying, from worry or relief G didn't really care about at this moment.

He stepped over to a better position to see the boy's face.

He swiped the clipboard on the end of the bed and read it over.

"Seems like you're doing well." He stated as he looked the boy in the eyes.

Kahl shifted, he now had heavy stitching on his neck along with his torso being covered with bandages.

The boy rolled his eyes.

"Like that matters." He huffed, his voice was only slightly rasped, a good sign that his vocal cords wouldn't need to be replaced.

G lowered the clipboard.

"It does." He stated, the boy obviously didn't recognise his voice.

Siya took a step forward, he presented her his palm, she stopped.

G looked back at the boy.

"Do you know who I am?" G asked.

Kahl looked over what he could see of G's face, which wasn't much.

He shook his head.

G sighed, he pulled down the medical mask.

Both Kahl and his partner jumped back, the girl's chair impacted on the wall, it stayed there for a moment before sliding to the side and clanging off the ground.

"Y-you-" the girl managed.

G eyed them both.

"So you do remember me." He sighed, he let the mask fall.

Kahl tensed slightly.

"How could we forget you," the boy asked harshly," G-"

G pulled a small pistol from his lab coat's pocket, Kahl's words fell short.

Silence filled the room.

G's grip tightened slightly.

Siya moved forward, she lowered his gun for him with a hand.

"Hours of surgery and studying wasted for that?" she asked him.

G's head cocked to one side, he considered her words.

"Right." He huffed, he dropped the handgun into his pocket and looked back at the clipboard.

Both Kahl and his partner exchanged looks.

G paced at the foot of the bed for a moment.

"The name's Pyque," he asked the girl, he eyed her," correct?"

It took her a few seconds to nod.

"Kahl and Pyque," he muttered," ah yes, the delinquents if memory serves."

Kahl leaned forward.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

G stopped his pacing, he looked at the boy.

"Can you elaborate?" he prompted.

Kahl shook his head.

"Why am I not dead," Kahl muttered, he eyed G," why are you here?"

G removed his glasses.

"I need your help." He stated.

Kahl crossed his arms over his chest and looked to the side.

"Here it comes." He muttered.

"To destroy The Butcher." G finished.

This caught Kahl off guard, both he and his partner were taken aback.

"W-what!?" Pyque managed.

G glanced at her, he spread his arms.

"You're still confused?" he asked.

Kahl studied his face, G could tell what the boy was thinking.

"Really?" Kahl asked.

G replaced his glasses, he raised the clipboard and eyed it.

"How soon can you be of use?" he asked.

"Immediately." Kahl replied, his partner eyed him worriedly, but he waved away her concern.

G smirked, he scribbled almost ineligibly on the form on the clipboard.

He snapped the clipboard back onto the bed.

"I'll see you in a few days." He stated before leaving.

The door clicked shut behind him.

Kahl turned to Siya.

"Is he really going to kill him?" he asked.

Siya eyed Kahl surprised, she smiled at him, her sharp, serrated teeth shone slightly in the light as she ran her hand through her hair.

The two partners exchanged looks.

"That's only if I don't get there first." Siya practically hissed.

She waved at them before moving to the door.

"Rest well." Siya ordered the both of them.

**Back in Death City.**

"Really?" Maka asked, Alexis nodded.

Class hours were over, the group had decided to relax at the basketball court, they were more or less forming a circle near a wall.

"You have no idea what happened," Kid repeated once more," none at all?"

Alexis eyed him, she leaned back slightly on the wall, her crutch was propped up beside her while she sat.

"If I did I'd tell you." She assured him." I think I owe you that."

Kid looked up at the sky, he sighed, but didn't question her statement.

Liz eyed Kid as if expecting him to do so.

Maka glanced between the two of them.

Soul sighed and shook his head.

"Alright," he began, everyone turned to him," just what exactly happened between you two?"

The question surprised Alexis, though Kid just eyed Soul warily.

Drake chuckled from beyond the circle, he was lying on his back and watching the sky.

"What's so funny?" Tsubaki asked from beside a bored BlackStar.

Drake looked at the group, he wore a strange smile.

"I just thought that one of them would have said something by now." He stated, he shrugged and turned back to the sky.

Alexis crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from Drake.

"Nothing happened." Kid muttered.

This statement surprised everyone but Drake, even Alexis turned to eye him confused.

His eyes flicked to hers for a moment, but soon moved over the other's faces.

Alexis decided she knew why he said that and turned to the group once more.

Drake shrugged once more.

"Lying's a cute trick Reaper." He joked.

Kid shifted his weight.

"What was that!?" he shouted.

Drake waved the question away.

Kid's eyes narrowed at the Altered.

He felt something tug at his sleeve, he looked down to see that it was Alexis.

"Just ignore him," she ordered," he's always been like that."

Kid eyed her for a few seconds, he relaxed and leant back on the wall.

"Fine." He huffed, he crossed his arms over his chest.

Liz shook her head, Maka looked at Drake.

"He really is strange." She thought to herself.

Suddenly BlackStar rose, he began to walk off in a seemingly random direction.

"Hey, BlackStar," Tsubaki called, she got to her feet," where're you going?"

He stopped and glanced back at her.

"I'm heading home, this is boring." He stated.

He resumed his journey, Tsubaki had to jog to catch up.

Everyone watched them leave, once they were out of sight silence filled their places.

Everyone looked at the ground.

As if following BlackStar's lead, Soul shifted and began walking off.

"H-hey, Soul wait!" Maka called, she jumped to her feet and ran after him.

Kid watched them leave with little interest.

Liz eyed her meister as he held his ground.

"Uh, Kid-" Liz muttered.

"If you want to leave just go." He told her.

She eyed him surprised, this was weird, but it wasn't Kid's kind of weird.

"Alright I guess." She sighed, she began to leave, she grabbed her sister and led her away." C'mon Patty."

When his partners were gone, Kid eyed Drake, who was looking at him amused.

Drake rose to his feet.

"I'll give you two sometime alone," he sighed with a smirk," see you at home Alexis."

She waved at him as he turned and left.

The silence returned, both Kid and Alexis refused to even look at each other.

Alexis sighed.

"Nothing happened?" she muttered.

"Well what did you expect me to say!?" he shot back rather loudly, he turned to her.

She leaned away from him slightly.

"Don't yell at me." She ordered, her voice was surprisingly cold.

He sighed and looked straight ahead.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

She closed her eyes and sighed, a few seconds passed before she turned to him.

"I'm pretty sure Lord Death told you." She muttered.

Kid was surprised, he turned to her.

"That's the first time she referred to dad as Lord Death." He thought to himself.

She turned away from him.

"My soul's messed up and I lost control, "she stated," you're smart, you should be able to underst-"

"I meant with Greg." He muttered, cutting her off.

She stopped midsentence, slowly she turned to face him.

"Yesterday you woke up," he began," you mistook Drake for Greg."

He turned his entire body towards her.

"Why-" he attempted, he stopped once he saw her face.

The right half of her face was obscured by her reddish hair, the left had a look of fear and confusion plastered on it.

"W-what did you just say?" she asked, her voice trembled and she shook slightly.

He eyed her confused.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him down, he struggled but his face was soon held inches from hers.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say." She repeated very slowly.

He blinked.

"That you thought Drake was Greg." Kid managed.

Her eyes scanned his, looking almost desperately for a hint that he wasn't telling the truth, but she knew that he was.

Her face shifted into sadness, she eyed the ground.

Her grip on his suit's collar loosened and he fell backwards, he righted himself slightly and looked at her.

She stared at her slightly outstretched hand, the bandages soon started to shift from a sterile white to a damp red, she felt a burning sensation, though she didn't really care.

Blood soon dripped lazily from her bare elbow.

"H-hey – you're bleeding." Kid stammered dumbly as he rose.

Alexis slowly got to her feet, she stood unevenly and grabbed her crutch.

She eyed him as he looked at her.

She opened her mouth, but held her tongue, she looked away from him.

"Are you alright?" Kid asked with genuine concern.

Her eyes flicked to him for a moment.

"Go home." She ordered him, she began to move past him.

He turned to watch her hobble past him, drops of blood dripped onto the ground, leaving a path in her wake.

"What's going on?" he called.

She stopped for a moment, she gave him a half glance.

"Nothing." She lied, she resumed her journey at a slightly faster pace.

Kid shook his head and moved to follow her, she rounded a corner.

Kid picked up his pace and practically flung himself around the corner.

He looked around the empty street.

She was gone, though she had a habit of doing this.

"Why-" he sighed, he shook his head clear of the thought and began to move in the direction of her house.

On one of the rooftops, Face sat with his legs hanging over the edge.

He watched Kid leave with genuine interest, he pressed his earpiece.

"She's moving," he muttered," your window is coming up."

He heard a sadistic laugh emit from the earpiece.

"Thank you very much." It chimed.

Face narrowed his eyes.

"There may be a problem, sir." He added.

"Hm," the earpiece sighed," what sort of problem?"

"I think she's getting cold feet." He replied.

His earpiece laughed again.

"Oh how adorable," his superior managed through his laughter," this makes it all the more fun!"

Face gritted his teeth.

"Sir, I think it'd be wise to-" he tried.

"I'm well aware of what you'd consider wise," the voice in his ear assured him, the tone chilled even him," but I'll have you know that things need to happen this way."

The heavily robed person was a mile away from Death City.

The sand of the desert warmed his bare feet, though only the left one poked out from his long, brown robe.

He released his earpiece's talk button.

He could hear Face sigh.

"Understood sir." His subordinate huffed.

A smile cracked on the man's face, which was obstructed by both his hood and by a cloth draped over his mouth.

"None of the others are willing to join us?" he asked seriously.

"No sir," Face replied," they haven't."

The man nodded.

"Then they have run out of time," he stated," how very unfortunate for them."

He looked up at the low sun, his dull blue eyes shone in the fading light.

"Nightfall then." He muttered, he pulled the earpiece from his ear and slipped it into his robes.

Kid arrived at Alexis' house.

He slammed his palm on the wooden door, a few seconds passed before it opened.

Before he spoke he noticed that it was Drake who had opened the door.

"What?" Drake almost spat.

Kid sighed.

"Can you get Alexis for me?" he asked.

Drake arched a brow.

"She's not here." He stated.

Kid pushed the door open and strode in, though Drake didn't really intervene.

"Yeah of course you can come in, ." Drake huffed as Kid moved past him.

Kid shook his head and opened the door to Alexis' room.

He was about to retort in kind when he saw that the room was devoid of life.

"Where is she!?" Kid asked.

Drake shook his head.

"How should I know, she hasn't come back yet." Drake stated.

Kid spun to look at him.

"She left, I thought she came here!" Kid managed.

Drake presented his palm to Kid.

"Calm down," he ordered," if she left then she wants to be alone."

"But-"

"No buts," Drake snapped," she obviously doesn't want you or anyone else around."

Kid thought about yelling at Drake, but realised that he was probably correct.

"Where would she go?" Kid asked," will she leave?"

Drake shook his head.

"Not a chance." He assured the young reaper.

"How can you be sure?" Kid demanded.

Drake simply pointed to a low table that was in front of a couch, a very familiar black and red case was on it.

"She won't go anywhere without taking him," he stated," she may be out of sight but trust me, she's not going anywhere."

Kid nodded thoughtfully.

Drake put a hand on the reaper's shoulder and led him to the door.

"Hey what're you-" Kid tried.

"Just, go home," Drake ordered," when she comes back I'll talk to her."

"But-"

Drake sighed and practically pushed Kid out the door.

"Look," he hissed before Kid could talk," you being here is only going to make her hide longer."

Kid considered this.

"If something happens," Drake continued," you'll be the first to know."

The door slammed shut, Kid was tempted to stick around, but knew that it would be futile.

He sighed explosively and turned to go, he tucked his hands into his pockets.

Shadows were beginning to crawl along the ground.

He had an eerie sense of someone watching him, a quick scan of his surroundings proved otherwise.

He realised that even though he wanted to he couldn't find her by looking for her soul, which even he couldn't see.

His best bet it seemed would be for him to wait for Drake to get back to him.

"That's assuming he does." He hissed under his breathe.

He continued his trek home, the shadows clawed at his heel the entire way.

Drake moved back to the couch, he felt a presence behind him.

He sighed and brought out a cigarette, he lit it by flicking the end a few times.

"You could have talked to him you know." He muttered, he cast a glance over his shoulder, sure enough, there was Alexis.

She eyed him, the lights in the house flickered and died, light streamed in through a window, but it failed to illuminate her face, instead it bathed her shoulders in light.

"I don't really have a choice right now." She stated.

Drake turned fully.

"Yes you do have a choice," he stated," just because he told you to do something doesn't mean you have to do it."

She chuckled slightly.

"That's funny coming from you." She sighed.

He cocked his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Why didn't you tell me," she asked, she took a step forward, the light from the window reflected off of the tears streaming down her face," why?"

Drake sighed.

"I didn't tell you to prevent exactly this reaction," he told her," I knew you'd freak out."

She studied his face through her tears.

"So that's it," she asked," you didn't want me to worry that he's here."

"Yes," Drake answered," I wanted you to rely on others a bit more."

She frowned, she dropped her crutch on the ground, it landed with a dull thud.

She used her left hand to wipe the tears from her face.

When she was done she glanced at the case on the table.

"Don't even think about it." He warned her.

She laughed slightly.

"What're you going to do," she asked," stop me?"

"If I have to." He replied.

She took a step forward.

"You have no idea what I'm going to do." She stated.

"Then tell me," he almost shouted, she eyed him warily as she took another step," what exactly are you doing?"

"I'm not going to help him!" she yelled.

"Then what are you doing," he shot back," running from your best bet on survival?"

"I don't have any other choice." She hissed.

Drake stepped towards her and grabbed her by the shoulder.

She glared at him.

"I know." He muttered.

She eyed him surprised.

"You're not making it out the city in your condition," he stated," I'm coming with you."

"B-but-"

"No buts," he snapped," no negotiations."

She was about to yell, to tell him that he was an idiot for this, but he did have a point.

She wasn't going very far by herself and far was where she needed to go.

"Fine." She surrendered.

He smiled slightly and let her go.

She snatched up Ko's case and turned for the door.

Drake put out his smoke and moved for the door too.

"It's been a while since the flash," he muttered," if we're lucky we still have some time."

Alexis opened the door, she was about to limp out into the dark streets, if it wasn't for the heavily robed man standing in her way.

His hood was down, the cloth that was over his mouth was removed, revealing the missing flesh around his right cheek and jaw bones, his sharp teeth shone slightly.

He smiled at them, both of them looked at him with wide eyes.

"Time for what kids?" Greg asked with a wide smile.

Kid sat at the dining room table, he drummed his fingers on his legs nervously.

"Why do I feel so anxious," he asked himself," it's not like she hasn't disappeared without a trace before."

He stopped himself for a moment and thought over that last note.

"Actually, I probably should be concerned." He decided.

There was a knock on the front door, he heard Liz go to answer it, but rose to do so anyway.

He was almost out of the dining room when a loud crash was heard, he stopped.

"That was the front door." He decided.

He ran through the halls, it took him just a few seconds to reach the front door, which was lying in a heap on the floor of the room, it had crashed through another door, which was now in splinters.

He saw that it was covered in blood, he thought to the sound of Liz.

"Damn." He almost spat.

"What the hell are you thinking!?" he heard Liz yell from the other room.

He turned and stepped through the broken doorway, he looked across the front room to see Liz was standing over someone.

"A-are you ok?" he heard her ask uncertainly.

Kid noticed she had started to back away from the person, blood started to spread away from them.

Their clothes were torn, their short black hair was dripping with blood.

They clutched their chest with their left hand, while holding themselves up with their right.

Kid eyed the right arm closely, there were loose bandages hanging from it, the flesh was reddish in colour and each finger ended with a sharp point, he couldn't even make out any nails on the hand.

At first glance it looked like the arm was burned severely, the flesh looked almost crystalized.

He stopped at the edge of the pool of blood, he shot Liz a look.

The person before them coughed, a black liquid splashed into the red, both of them eyed the person as they raised their head.

Kid flinched when he saw Drake's face, despite his wounds, his face was more angry than pained.

"We got a problem." Drake managed, black leaked from his mouth with every word.

**Author's Note:**** heya it's me again.**

**I'm getting really excited for the upcoming chapters, the plot has begun!**

**Yay**

**Anyway, this chapter like most could have been written better, I know, but I think all in all its ok.**

**It's fine**

**It's not terrible**

**This may only be because I really like this plotline and I'm being an egotist that is blinded by my own work, seeing it as a shimmering star when in reality it's a black hole that's going to absorb our solar system.**

**Or maybe it's because the chapter isn't the worst thing I've written, it isn't the best either I'll admit that.**

**Oh sorry about the wait, I'm sure it's only going to get longer now that I'm in school.**

**If you find this chapter hard to follow in places, it's because I scrapped some parts then rewrote them to fit, so sorry if a few errors make you hate me forever.**

**THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO are things and stuff :3**

**But seriously, look forward to the next chapter I guess.**

**I'll explain some stuff and go in depth on some things.**

**I'm thinking a full run through of how the first encounter with Greg Alexis and Drake goes down.**

**Sure you may know what happens, but you don't know what really happened.**

**Get it?**

**Got it?**

**Good.**

**If not just wait for the next chapter.**

**Oh by the way, it's been quite some time since I've had a review on this.**

**Seriously, the section is there for you to get better content, use it.**

**Even if you just want to bitch at me for my cliff-hanger endings. (go ahead I hate them too.)**

**Just leave a review or PM me it's really the only way this story's gonna get better.**

**Anyway, from this point on its plot, plot and more plot, with I guess the necessary amount of filler and explanations.**

**Next stop, combat town….hopefully.**

**Oh and I will explain shit in the future, I like to tie up loose ends in the story not in a PM k?**

**K**

**Hope you can overlook the mediocrity for the time being.**

**Anywho, see you next chapter, BYYEEE.**

**-GorseT**


	16. Chapter 16: Paper Thin

When you fight during all of the waking hours of your life,

You tend to have a different mindset to those usually around you,

Perhaps the first friend you made is the blade clipped to your side,

Perhaps it has its own personality that clicks with yours,

Perhaps not,

And perhaps you have enemies,

Ones they may be against you and you alone,

Perhaps those enemies are you….

And you alone.

-Exact source unknown

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

Drake blinked in surprise, no, shock at the sight before him.

He knew how it came to this.

Somehow, not once did he think this would happen, he had overlooked the fact that he may have trekked to the city before Alexis even had her vision.

He felt so stupid, so angry with himself for being so soft and not warn her.

"And so it's come to this." He thought to himself.

Alexis took a shaking step away from the door and Greg followed her, with every step back she managed, he took a step forward, his half grin was very unnerving.

Alexis bumped into Drake, who clamped his arms onto her shoulders, she looked back in panic, as if expecting him to shove her forward.

He simply shot her a look and reversed their places, putting himself between her and Greg.

Drake gave her a nudge.

"You should run." He muttered as he turned to his maker with an out of character fire burning in his eyes.

She looked around the room, there was a window on the far side of the wall, across from the door.

She took a shaky step towards it, not even daring to take Greg from her sight for a single heartbeat.

She shook, in truth, she was utterly terrified.

She wasn't ready, and probably never would be for the task he had in mind.

"What about you?" she almost whimpered as she risked a glance at Drake.

His weight shifted.

"I'll be fine," he lied, he waved her away," just go!"

She looked around the room for another option, but knew her state wouldn't offer any.

It was at this time that she noticed Greg had stopped moving forward, he stood just over a meter away from Drake.

He raised his hands, the cloth of his cloak fell away, both Drake and Alexis eyed the man's right arm.

It was skeletal, the bare bones were stained with stale  
blood and no muscle gripped its surface, it looked like he had just dug it up from a grave and attached it to his body.

"A lot of time has passed, kids." He chuckled in that sadistic way they remembered.

Drake shifted even more, it was obvious he was nervous beyond belief, but it wasn't because he had virtually no way out of this room alive.

He shot Alexis a half glance, but quickly looked back at Greg.

"Why are you still here!?" he hissed.

Greg laughed, he peeked around Drake almost childishly.

"Yes, why are you still here hmm?" he asked," It's about time we left this dreadful place."

Alexis squirmed under his gaze, which only made his smile grow.

"Shut up!" Drake ordered, he grabbed the dial on the side of his collar, though he couldn't bring himself to actually turn it.

Greg's focus shifted from Alexis to Drake, his eyes became angry, even more crazed.

Greg roared at Drake, a long tongue lashed from his mouth towards the boy, it slapped his cheek before slithering back into Greg's open maw.

For a moment Drake stood for a moment, he didn't exactly know what had happened for a moment.

He blinked a few times before the blood rolled from the new cut on his face, he dabbed the back of his hand into the blackish red liquid.

Suddenly the fingers on his right hand clenched in pain, it felt like a colony of fire ants had burrowed into his flesh to make a home and were now expanding their territory.

He gripped his bandaged wrist with his left hand.

Greg simply snarled at him.

"Watch your mouth." He scolded.

A brief flash of memory flicked through Drake's head, he recalled pain, being strapped to a spiked chair and beaten, this happened quite often if he remembered correctly.

Punishment or for simply not doing anything, which was often.

Drake realised he was having trouble moving, his joints refused to respond.

His eyes burned into the man that was just out of arm's reach.

Greg began to walk around him, he knocked over a backpack that was on the ground, some papers slipped from it and out into the shadows.

As he did so he took a swig from a flask, the liquid that spilled from his stripped jawline smelled like a mixture of death and alcohol.

Drake surmised that this was the reason for his condition.

Greg tucked the flask into his robes and approached Alexis, who began to move backwards away from him.

"Why is she still here!?" Drake asked himself, he managed to unclench his fingers, a slow start.

Greg took another step towards the girl, who took another step back, until he suddenly stopped advancing, though she did keep moving away from him.

"Are we ready to go?" he asked.

She looked around as if she could find the answer to this question.

Strangely enough, she did.

The bag that had fallen had many files in it, ones explaining missions or targets, a few had pictures stapled to them.

Though there were a few pictures that caught her eye.

In bold letters the files read; **Must be TERMINATED as soon as possible.**

The only visible picture was that of Death the Kid, tears almost burst from her eyes.

"That's my entire purpose for being here." She sobbed silently, she knew what the other files had stamped on them.

Greg cocked his head to one side as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"No," she muttered finally, her eyes met his," I'm not ready."

His shoulders slumped slightly.

"Well I guess I jumped the gun on this one," he sighed, he began to move back over to Drake," I guess I'll come back later."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"What the FUCK did he just say?" she asked herself.

"Wha-" was all she could actually manage however.

Greg grabbed Drake and threw him into the wall, instead of catching him though, the wall failed and he soared through it into another room.

Greg turned back to Alexis.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked in a voice that made her ask that herself," this is why you were made, to serve!"

She shook her head.

"I don't care!" She stated in a tone that surprised her.

Greg shook his head.

"You and me are going to have a talk on the way." He stated, he moved towards her.

Drake spat, a chunk of the wall flew across the room to land ungracefully with a barely audible thunk.

He had just managed to move his legs too, and now he was in another room.

He heard Greg yell, he knew it was at Alexis.

It was only when she yelped that he scrambled his jerky limbs to rise, he stopped when a heavy clunk was heard on the floor, he looked down to see a thick metal collar, his hands shot to his neck.

"Oh sh-" was all he could manage before his world went dark.

Alexis fell over backwards, she had tripped over something, what exactly she didn't care about, she only thought about putting as much distance between Greg and herself, it was literally the only thing in her mind that even where or how she'd get away from him were not even factors.

Her heart dropped when her back hit the wall, just under the window, though she was so distracted she didn't even notice the sill was what she was resting her head on.

Greg took another step forward.

His smile from before was replaced with a sinister snarl.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" she managed when he was near.

He chuckled to himself, it sounded like bones snapping under pressure, he bent over until his face was an inch from her sweating face.

"Yes you are." He stated.

A roar caught both of their attention, though only Greg turned to look.

His head turned in time for him to begin to straighten before something slammed into him, he was pushed into the kitchen, which had rarely been used.

He was slammed into the oven, the glass shattered and blood splattered onto the large greyish tiles.

Before he could be slammed into something else, he grabbed the thing that had attacked him and threw it towards her.

What she now recognised as Drake landed in a heap at her feet, his face held her in her spot.

His eyes were animalistic, crazed, vertical slits took the place of his pupils and somehow his teeth seemed to be larger, sharper, more menacing than usual.

He flipped to his feet and launched himself at Greg.

She realised his collar must have fallen off, as he wouldn't charge Greg if it was on whatsoever, the man was dangerous.

She got to her feet, but had to practically jump out of the way of the oven door as it was hurled in her direction, her leg and arms burned from the act, though she managed to ignore it as she rose.

Unfortunately, the fight followed her, she had to leap away from the two combatants as they grabbed each other's shoulders, they pushed against each other, Greg fought calmly as Drake repeatedly tried to bite him, Drake's jaws snapped shut a hairsbreadth from Greg's nose, but ultimately he didn't draw blood from any of his attempts.

Drake seemed to try to crush Greg's left shoulder with his bandaged arm, muscle spasms caused this arm to flex, the bandages burst apart, only a few strands hung loosely.

His arm was somewhat frightful, but Alexis was used to seeing it.

It was reddish in colour, its texture looked like it had been burning for so long that it crystalized into a shell of flesh instead of a layer of skin, each sharp fingertip dug into Greg's shoulder and drew blood, though the man didn't pay the red droplets any attention.

In fact, Greg sneered as he picked up Drake, his creation didn't even seem to notice as it kept trying to rip his face off.

Greg slammed Drake into the low table in the room, he took a few steps back from Drake.

Alexis silently cheered Drake on, trying to will him to get up faster.

A large scythe blade pinned Drake to the ground, Alexis' heart skipped a beat.

Alexis stood there, she couldn't move, why she couldn't wasn't apparent at the moment.

"Play time," Greg began, he slashed his skeletal arm to the side, blood sprayed in random directions, the blackish red liquid stained everything and a line of it splashed onto Alexis' face, the blood burned as if Greg had cut her and not her friend," is over."

The scythe blade coming from his arm was wicked looking, it didn't even look like a sort of weapon, the blade moved then curved in random directions, giving the blade an uneven jagged edge that ended in a sinister point, the blade resembled bone more than anything else, which was to be expected since it was coming from his right arm, a weapon for a true madman.

Alexis saw Drake cough up a wad of blood, colour had started to drain from his face already as blood began to form a pool around him.

Greg eyed her for a moment.

He ran the edge of the blade on Drake's neck, the sharp metal bit the boy's flesh though not enough for significant bleeding.

For a moment Alexis thought Drake would jump up, but this was wishful thinking, his eyes had lost their crazed look.

He was done.

Her eyes flicked to Greg, who eyed her curiously, as if expecting her to do something.

She stopped at that last thought.

"I do need to do something!" she realised.

Greg raised his arm, the blade gleamed red as light shone on it, blood rolled from the many curves and turns in the blade.

"Stop!" she yelled, before she could think she began moving forward, her arms out in front of her.

The blade fell, she shut her eyes, though no sound of pain, or the distinct sound of weapon hitting flesh was heard.

She reluctantly opened her green eyes.

Greg's blade was a centimetre from Drake's stomach, obviously Greg had intended for the boy to die in one of the most painful ways possible.

She glanced at Greg, who smirked at her as if nothing was happening, Drake's blood rolled from his left cheek.

"What?" he asked almost politely, though it only was because he knew he had won.

"I'll go with you." She managed, Drake turned to look at her with wide eyes.

"Of course you will," Greg muttered, he raised his arm again," now if you'll-"

"Don't!" she shouted.

Greg stopped and faced her.

"I-I-I'll o-only come if you leave him a-alone." She managed.

Greg smiled.

"Of course," he repeated, only this time the blade shrunk back into his arm, he held his hands apart," that seems reasonable."

He was being sarcastic she knew, but at least he wasn't going to kill Drake.

He took a step towards her.

"W-where are you taking me?" she asked.

He cocked his head.

"North, to the Icy Cauldron." He stated.

Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

"No," she blurted as he approached," no more experiments!"

He smiled at her, he stopped a few feet from her and raised his skeletal hand, he curled his fingers to point at her forehead.

She eyed the skeletal finger warily before it connected with her forehead.

Her entire world went black, her eyes widened and she fell to her knees, she seemed about to fall over, but her hand suddenly shot out and slammed into the wooden floorboards, splintered wood exploded from the small crater that formed under her hand.

Drake watched as Alexis fell, her eyes were closed now and he wouldn't be able to stay awake for long, his vision blurred in and out, his medical training was now a curse as he self-diagnosed himself as a dead man.

Alexis rose slowly her hair had fallen in front of her face.

"Ready to go?" Greg asked her.

She got to her feet, she swayed slightly, like a child trying to walk, though she recovered quickly.

A large crazed smile cracked over her face, she flipped her hair from her face, her eyes were very bloodshot and were a deeper green than before.

"Of course." She shot back, her voice seemed different.

Greg pointed towards Drake.

"I think Ko is over there." He stated.

She strode over to Drake and looked around, soon she huffed and focused with her eyes closed.

Ko's case flew from the remains of the table and into her hand, she looped the straps over her shoulders.

She turned to go, Drake grabbed her ankle, she paused for a moment and looked down at him.

Her face was puzzled, as if she'd seen him for the first time.

"Is he alive for a reason?" she asked.

Greg chuckled.

"I suppose so." He replied.

She shrugged and violently kicked her foot from Drake's grasp, he felt his shoulder dislocate and he let go.

She moved past Greg and to the door.

"C'mon," she almost whined," the plan is in motion."

Greg chuckled to himself, he strode over to Drake and crouched over him.

"Nothing personal son," he sighed, he patted Drake's cheek, which was even more pale than usual," you were just in the way."

Drake glared at the blob that was Greg, he cursed not being able to see the filth's face.

Greg stood up and began to walk away.

"Oh," he exclaimed, he turned while bringing something out from his robes," I forgot that I missed every one of your birthdays."

Drake felt something hit his chest, he grasped it weakly and was surprised to feel the plastic of a blood pack.

"That should hold you over for a while." Greg sneered, the sound of footsteps began to move away from Drake," I look forward to seeing you again.".

Drake turned to what he assumed was the ceiling, he blinked.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, they were gone that much was certain, he recalled the blood pack.

Eventually his weak right arm was able to raise it to his mouth long enough for him to bite into it and drink its contents.

He threw the empty plastic away and sighed, fire burned in his chest, he held his new wound.

He propped himself up onto a wall and realised he needed to take care of his left arm.

His right arm pushed him up, the energy from the blood coursed through him, though he knew it wouldn't last long.

He quickly slammed his left shoulder into the wall, the ball joint snapped back into place, though he simply ignored the pain.

There were more pressing matters at the moment.

Drake stumbled through the streets, passerby's eyed him, though there weren't many.

Any who approached him he shoved away, more for their sakes than his own.

He'd never been so hungry, he could now see clearly, which was a curse in its own way.

He saw a child running in the streets, blood coursed through its little veins.

Everywhere Drake looked there was another potential meal.

Without his collar on it was hard to suppress the urge to kill.

"Why not?" echoed through his mind, he stopped and leant on a wall.

A couple on a midnight stroll saw him, they even came close to him.

Sweat beaded his brow.

"Are you alright!?" the young adult asked, he moved to help Drake, though he was pushed away.

"You need to get to a hospital!" the woman told him, he simply spat out a wad of black blood.

Eventually their words just stopped making sense, turning into dull echoes that he could scarcely hear.

"So hungry." He thought to himself.

The man put a hand on his shoulder, for a moment all Drake could think of was dismembering this couple, it wouldn't be that hard, the street was now dead other than them.

He could feel the blood flowing through the man's hand, a steady rush.

Drake's bloody hand touched the man's fingers.

With great effort he stopped himself, he forced himself to brush the man's hand away and not break his fingers, slowly.

With effort he slammed his head into the wall he was leaning on, a dent formed in the brick.

The man began to speak, Drake could almost understand him through his lust for blood.

He grabbed the man's collar and pulled him close.

Unconsciously he eyed the man's jugular, it throbbed quickly and blood flowed fast.

It wouldn't be that hard for Drake to rip the man's throat out, two seconds, no more, maybe less of pain if he did it right.

Though he could always miss the man's nervous system in the bite and just cause him thirty seconds of hell as his girl was either eaten in front of him or as she tried to save him.

In his state, Drake knew that this would end badly if he stuck around.

Drake forced these thoughts from his mind, it was hard, very hard.

He shook the man to stop him from talking.

"Where – can – I find – the reaper's son?" he managed.

The man shakily pointed in a seemingly random direction.

"I believe his house is that way." He stammered, though Drake only understood half of what he said.

"Thanks." Drake muttered, he pushed the man back to his girl and began to hobble in the direction he was pointing to.

Drake half crawled up the walkway up to Kid's house.

He'd been there a few times in the past.

"It seemed much shorter then." He coughed sarcastically as he tripped over his own feet.

A trail of black and red droplets dogged his moves.

Each puddle was getting slightly larger than the last as he began to lose speed.

As he pressed his right hand to the walkway, his blood lazily fell to the ground.

Even as he straightened he could hear the sound of the blood hitting the red pool that had started to form.

He glanced back, his right eye couldn't see very far, a few meters at most, his left however showed the trail of blood behind him.

"It's been a while since I've seen this much of my own blood." He sighed, he was trying to be sarcastic, but he realised it was the truth.

As his feet shuffled forward he tried to think of the last time he had been in this position.

As he recalled the situation was fairly similar, but he'd been very young then.

Drake's hand brushed against the front door of the mansion, he would have jumped back in surprise had he been in possession of the energy to do so, instead he felt to a knee.

He felt very tired and hungry and hated himself for it.

He shook his head, he thought he still had a few meters to go, but decided it wasn't important.

He raised his long right hand and reached up to the doorbell, it tolled a few times and died out.

Every second he waited was hell, he felt as if he couldn't even stay awake.

He closed his eyes for a moment.

"A little late for a rest." A familiar voice mused.

He sighed and looked to his side, sure enough there he was, a person that almost looked just like him waved sarcastically.

The man's hair was a sterile white, his tuxedo and dress shoes were a sinister black, his red dress shirt seemed to stand out under the white tie.

The man eyed Drake, his blood red right eye and golden left stared into Drake's soul.

The man was easily recognisable as possibly a close relative, but in truth he was Drake, though he had a name of his own.

"Fuck off D." Drake spat, blood spurted from his lips and splattered on the pavement.

D chuckled to himself.

"You could've just let her go." He stated, Drake clenched his teeth in anger.

"No I couldn't," he shot back," you know that."

D shrugged.

"Right, you're good now," he mused," like telling yourself that changes anything."

Drake shook his head and struggled to rise, eventually he stood on his feet.

He swayed slightly, he watched as D moved in front of the door, Drake moved and pressed the doorbell once more, before the toll ended he pressed it again.

D brushed his hand off of the button, it fell limp at Drake's side, his fingers twitched.

The energy from the blood had long since passed, now he was tempted to bite into his own flesh just to stop feeling hungry.

He eyed D angrily.

His copy shrugged at him.

"Just give up," it prompted, Drake worked to close his fist," have fun for once."

Drake's right fist clenched, his left didn't seem to want to cooperate.

"They'd never forgive me." He muttered under his breath.

D laughed heartily.

When he stopped he eyed Drake seriously.

"She's going to get carved up," he hissed, Drake's eyes narrowed," accept it."

Drake summoned what energy he could and reeled his fist back.

"Shut up!" he yelled as his fist traveled towards D.

His fist hit the door and kept going however.

The door was pulled from its hinges and was thrown into the room, Drake stumbled in after it, landing in a heap just inside the room.

He managed to raise himself up on his right hand.

No sooner had he almost righted himself had something smashed him in the face.

He landed on the floor once more.

"What's wrong with you!?" was all he heard, the noise was so loud he was tempted to lash out, but could only prop himself up again.

He watched as blood began to pour from his wounds once more, he managed to raise his left hand and press it to his chest, a pitiful attempt to keep his blood in his body, this he knew.

"A-are you ok?" he heard the voice ask.

His vision began to focus slightly, in fact he could see the red blood on the floor very well, though this didn't exactly help any.

Black shoes stepped just into his view, stopping a few inches from the widening pool of blood.

Drake managed to look up, he wasn't very surprised to see Kid, though the reaper looked very surprised to see him, be it his state or simply him being there at all, Drake didn't really care.

Drake spat out the blackish red blood that had begun to fill his mouth and eyed the reaper once more.

"We got a problem." Drake huffed.

Maka flinched at the sound someone knocking on the door.

"Did I fall asleep?" she asked herself as she glanced at the clock, some time had passed since both her and Soul had gotten home.

She pushed herself from the couch and began to move towards the door, the knocking continued, picking up its pace.

"I'm coming!" she called, hoping to silence the noise, but it failed to even come close.

Her hand gripped the doorknob and turned it, the moment the door clicked and began to crack open, a force swung it to the side, it slammed into the wall loudly.

Maka jumped back and looked around embarrassed, it was the middle of the night after all.

"What are y-" she began, her words fell short when she saw the state of the person who was on the other side of the door.

Drake looked back at her, he leaned against the doorway heavily as blood seeped from his wounds.

Her eyes widened at his state, he had a few pitiful bandages draped over his massive chest wound with a jacket lazily thrown over it.

Before she could say anything she heard the sound of running.

"Drake slow down!" she heard Tsubaki call.

Drake glanced down the hall, a red drop rolled from the corner of his mouth, though he paid it no attention.

Soon Kid, his partners, BlackStar and Tsubaki came into view behind the bleeding Drake.

Curiously, Elizabeth was present as well.

Drake glanced back once more.

"Where's Vlad, Elizabeth?" he asked, he sounded very tired.

"He's gone to speak to Lord Death." His sister replied, she sighed," you'd know that if you had paid attention instead of running off."

"We don't have time to waste." Drake stated, his voice devoid of emotion.

His sister sighed once more.

"You're only going to open your wounds again," she stated," we don't have any more blood packs on hand you know."

Drake simply shook his head and turned to look at Maka, who eyed him with uncomprehending eyes.

"Who is-" she heard Soul start through a yawn, his words stopped as did the sound of his feet.

She glanced back to see that he was staring at Drake's condition.

"Whoa." He blurted dumbly.

Drake snarled at him menacingly and he took a few steps back, as did Maka, blackish blood leaked from the Altered's clenched, sharp teeth and dripped onto the floor, it seemed to try to seep between the floorboards.

Elizabeth placed a hand on Drake's shoulder and pulled him back out the door with surprising strength.

"Sorry," she apologised as she practically hid Drake behind her," he's not exactly running at full capacity."

Kid stepped forward into the room, Maka's attention moved to him.

"Kid, what's going on?" she asked.

Kid sighed and met her gaze.

"Alexis' been taken." He stated reluctantly.

Both her and Soul were dumbfounded by this.

"W-wha – how?" Soul managed.

"Greg took her." Elizabeth replied sadly.

"Greg's in the city," Maka asked," and alive?"

Kid nodded.

"According to Drake, yes." He muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Drake shouted, his voice now dripped with a predatory tone.

"Nothing." Kid sighed.

Drake tried to push the subject, but was shoved into the wall by Elizabeth, he eyed his sister.

"We're trying to get going here!" she yelled at him," Focus for Death's sake."

Maka glanced from person to person.

It took her a moment to realise that they had come to get them.

"One second!" she called as she practically bolted into her room.

Maka looked around the room, the signs of combat were obvious.

The table was crushed and splintered, the kitchen was a mess and a hole roughly the size of a person was punched into a wall and into the room beyond.

Alexis' house seemed much cleaner, thus she thought for a moment that they had entered the wrong home, but unfortunately, this simply wasn't the case.

"What's this?" BlackStar asked, he rose to his feet and held a number of forms, theywere in a very sizeable stack that was a few inches thick.

"Let me see those." Kid demanded as he held out his hand.

BlackStar eyed the papers for a few more seconds before handing them to Kid, who quickly looked them over.

The look of surprise quickly cracked over his face, only to be replaced by a frown with each paper he looked at.

He eyed Elizabeth and turned the papers towards her.

"What do you know about this?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Sorry, I'm out of the loop for that." She stated.

Kid's eyes narrowed.

"Right." He muttered under his breath.

"What is it?" Maka asked.

Kid eyed her, after a few seconds he held out the stack of papers.

"See for yourself." He simply said.

She grasped the heavy stack of papers and read the first one.

The first line along with a small picture of Kid next to it sent a shiver down her spine.

"Terminated." She repeated, she eyed Kid," You were to be killed?"

"We all were." He corrected, his eyes glanced at her for a moment," Keep reading."

She flipped the page, under it was a picture of Liz, below that was Patty, each one with various specs such as I.Q and level of threat.

Below Patty was BlackStar with Tsubaki below him.

She saw the pattern, even without Kid's words she could guess who was next.

Her face wasn't a surprise, neither was Soul's under that.

Her eyes caught a series of numbers near the bottom of the page.

"What do these mean?" she wondered aloud, looking at the other pages as she did so.

Drake spat, red blood splashed from his mouth.

"They're most likely what order you were to be killed in." Elizabeth mused grimly.

"No," Maka muttered, looking every page over again," they aren't in any order."

"Then what are they?" Soul asked.

Drake chuckled to himself, he began to walk over to them.

"What's so fun-" Maka started.

Drake's blood covered finger impacted the paper, he used his nail to draw lines through some of the numbers.

"They're dates," he huffed," when you were supposed to be dead."

Kid moved forward, he eyed the numbers that weren't crossed out.

"That's just a few days from now." He muttered, eyeing Maka's picture.

Maka shivered slightly while Kid eyed Drake.

"How'd you know that?" he asked.

Drake laughed bitterly, laughter which soon turning into a coughing fit.

"Take a guess," he managed," I'm a lot like her y'know."

Kid took a step forward, he shifted his weight.

"As if she's anything like you!" he shouted angrily, his teeth clenched.

Drake turned away from the reaper.

"Kid…" Liz muttered, she laid a hand on her meister's shoulder, but this did little to calm him as he soon brushed it away.

"She is though." Drake sighed, he sounded almost sad, a tone that made everyone look at him surprised, even Kid, who's fists and teeth unclenched.

Drake turned to them, his face was an expression that seemed alien.

"For someone she went through so much trouble to make amends with," he started, he eyed Kid through half-lidded eyes," you really don't know much about her."

Kid took a step forward.

"I know eno-"

"No," Drake huffed, cutting the reaper off," you don't."

Drake eyed them.

"She's like family to us," he continued, he turned to the door," not you."

"Then why'd you let Greg take her!?" Kid yelled.

Drake stopped turning, he glanced back.

Instead of talking he simply shook his head, taking his first shaking steps towards the door.

"Where-" Kid tried, Liz put a hand on his shoulder again, this time pulling him away from the Altered.

Drake stopped just short of the door, he looked outside.

"If you really think I just let him go," Drake began, he gave them a half glance," you're right."

This surprised Kid, who was about to yell at Drake again, but the look on the boy's face stopped him, he never thought he'd describe anything as death.

"I'm weak," Drake stated, his eyes seemed sunken," Always have been, always will."

He eyed his right arm, the cracked flesh moved in an eerie grace.

Blood dripped through his new bandages.

"You're not weak." Liz assured him, she cast a look at Kid, who rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't able to stop her from leaving." He shot back.

His tone caught Maka's attention.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked," She just left with him?"

Drake nodded.

"She was trying to leave when he showed up," he stated," she left willingly with the assurance that I'd be left alive."

Drake eyed the palm of his right hand, blood welled in the creases.

He spat out into the streets.

"She should've just let me die." He sighed, even Kid looked at Drake like he was a new person," it would've been a lot easier."

Elizabeth eyed the ground.

"We have work to do." She muttered, she took a few steps forward.

"That we do." Drake agreed, he shot the group a look," Too bad we aren't trusted anymore."

Kid looked away from Drake, not able to meet his gaze.

Drake and his sister stepped outside.

"Think they'll come?" she asked her brother.

Drake boasted a smirk, he hooked his collar back up and turned the dial, by the time he was done he had already lit a cigarette and was smoking.

"Wait!" they both heard behind them.

"Yep." He mused as he smiled widely.

His sister smiled with him.

"You're always so persuasive." She giggled slightly.

"What can I say," he chuckled as he turned to see the rest of them running to catch up," it's a gift."

Just as the others caught up, Drake was already looking through his pockets.

"So," Kid began as he filed up next to Drake, he looked away from the boy," where're we-"

Drake handing him a small globe cut him off, Kid looked into the globe, it was completely white, about the size of his fist.

"What's this?" he asked.

Drake inhaled and brought the cigarette from his mouth, he breathed smoke out in front of him, he pressed the still smouldering cig to the globe, which cleared away from the smoke.

As it cleared a small model came into view, it was a house that was covered in snow.

"Oh that's cool." Maka cooed as she moved to get a closer look.

"That's where we're going." Drake muttered as he brought another cigarette to his mouth.

"And where's this?" Soul asked.

Drake eyed him.

"Up north." He replied.

"How far up north?" Kid asked.

Drake shrugged.

"Pretty far." He huffed as he lit his second smoke.

Drake held his hand out for the globe back, which Kid looked into still, causing Drake to simply grab it from the reaper.

"We're going to the Icy Cauldron," he said loud enough for everyone to hear," sure hope you like snow."

He chuckled to himself for a few seconds.

"And witches." He added.

**One week later**

G sighed heavily, splashing water into his face to clear his eyes from sleep.

They still felt like an ice pick was lodged in them.

He checked his watch, the date that was present under the hands was not surprising.

"Any day now." He repeated for what felt the thousandth time, hell it could have been the thousandth time.

He heard a giggle in the other room, the training room, Siya was probably still helping Kahl get back on his feet.

"He's behind schedule." He sighed.

He stepped out into the matted room, Kahl had his partner in weapon form, she was a few meters away from him.

Siya's battle axe was resting at his throat, she stifled her laughter with a hand.

"You're as good as new!" she exclaimed through her giggling, her skin flushed with a warm tan, her t-shirt and shorts hugged her skin, there was a foreign language on her shirt just at her breast .

Kahl eyed her as if she was insane.

"How so, we lost," he asked, he eyed the floor," again."

"Ooh," Siya sighed, she lowered her battle-axe and leaned towards her downed opponent, hands on her knees with the axe leaning up against her curved thigh," don't be like that, I've seen you fight, you're back to that level."

Kahl shook his head.

Pyque returned to human form, she sighed.

"We are?" she asked.

Siya nodded.

"Yup, too bad for you I'm just too tough!" she sneered.

Kahl sighed explosively and fell back, his spine thudded against the mat, he saw that G had entered the room.

"O-oh, hey G," he managed, he flipped over to his stomach," what's up?"

"Hey G." Siya called, she waved to him, and he waved back.

Before he could speak an alarm blared, a smile crossed his lips.

Siya looked around, she gripped her battle-axe near at the base of the twin blades, she ran a thumb over one, then the other, a few drops of blood fell to the ground a few seconds later, her sharp, serrated teeth shone and her tan seemed to deepen.

"We have an expected guest," G stated, he brought a tablet out from behind him, he eyed the many camera feed it showed, Alexis' familiar figure made him shake his head," , so she has returned, oh so transparent."

He eyed Kahl, who was breathing rather hard, as was his partner, he turned to Siya, who looked about to burst from excitement.

"Kahl, you and Pyque should get some rest," he stated, he turned to Siya," you ready?"

Siya dropped her axe, just the sheer weight of it caused it to get buried slightly in the floor, she cracked her knuckles and picked up the weapon with almost no effort, swinging it around before resting it on her shoulder.

"As if I ever wasn't." she hissed seriously.

G smiled, he eyed the tablet once more, the forms of those he was counting on following Alexis were there on one of the other feeds, about ten miles away.

"You'll have a short while before they arrive," he warned her as she moved past him," be sure to be done by then."

Siya smiled at him and waved.

"Just be ready for your entrance." She ordered sarcastically, she was beaming in her shorts and t-shirt, she was obviously looking forward to this.

**Author's Note**

**Dear lord it's been a while.**

**I'm sorry about that, really I am.**

**Gorse here with the apologies,**

**Anyway, a tale from the past month.**

**First, I jumped off of a cliff into the water below, getting an ear infection and needing to be medicated for the next six days.**

**Then my computer though it would be funny to not save this chapter, and delete it, then it just wouldn't let me save for about a week, before my wifi antennae decided to suffer a stoke and die for about two weeks, with word working off and on.**

**Eventually my computer overcome this and started working about, say two hours before the time I'm writing this,(I write most if not all notes after a chapter is done) and is now free of the ER….yay.**

**I swear if my computer dies again imma be pissed. **

**Anyway, the chapter, if it seems like it jumped around, or is rather short for the wait, which it is, it's because I had to write on stuff from over the time my computer decided to work, with it mostly being apathetic to my want to finish, thus it is short so that I can get started on the next one….and prove I'm not dead.**

**I should probably use my tablet at some point to let you guys know what's going on as that seems to work when my desktop doesn't.**

**A bit of a tangent but let's get back on track.**

**The chapter isn't bad in my opinion, I can't understand why I left the beginning out of the last chapter, really I can't.**

**Probably some mild foresight of my computer dying and so it would be a good starting point…I guess….idk.**

**Next chapter, guess what, COMBAT!**

**Yes that time has come again, next chapter will be combat heavy, unless I suffer a brain aneurism and manage to turn it into the equivalent of a dinner party. (Hah not F***ing likely)**

**Look forward to a combat heavy chapter, with backstory mixed in.**

**I'll aim for it to be much longer than this, but it may be around the same length, if so sorry.**

**Hopefully my computer won't commit suicide anytime soon, if it does I may have to start doing this on my tablet, something I do not want to do.**

**See you next chapter….hopefully…BYYEEE**

**-GorseT**


	17. Chapter 17: Red Snow

I'm a raging storm,

You're a calm blue,

Those that avoid me,

Go for you.

- Exact source unknown

Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine

Seth crouched over the broken body, he shook his head, the fight had been too easy.

He rose and slashed his twin swords to his sides, blood splattered heavily on the ground around him and not a single drop remained on his weapons.

"Too easy." Tobi sighed, obviously agreeing with his state of mind.

Seth nodded, he turned to Echo, who was just finishing sealing his left arm in its collar, the heavy clamps thudded shut.

Echo noticed his gaze and gave him a bloody thumbs-up.

Tobi and Tabi shifted from their weapon forms, standing next to their meister.

Seth looked around, half-expecting for there to be a survivor, but none of the mangled corpses even twitched, blood began to lap at Seth's feet, he paid it no mind however, instead he moved to look into one of the buildings.

He stepped inside and began to move through the rooms.

He stopped in a hall, he looked to his left, there were a few children huddled with their mother, they shook and whimpered uncontrollably, the mother held out a knife as if it would save her and her kids.

A drop of blood rolled from the corner of his mouth, he ran his thumb through it.

Looking the woman in the eyes he licked the warm liquid from his thumb, almost immediately spitting it out, the woman seemed to try to shrink away from him.

"Tastes like dirt." He muttered, he moved past the doorway.

A small smile cracked over his face as he moved to the other rooms, ignoring the family.

Echo followed him closely, he turned to look at the family, he quickly looked away from them and moved after Seth.

"We missed a few." Echo muttered as he filed up beside Seth.

Seth glanced at Echo.

"I know," he assured his friend," let them cower, the ground suits them."

Both Tobi and Tabi eyed each other at this, but they continued to follow their meister.

As Seth moved through the house he turned to a window, he heard something.

Echo noticed his movements, he watched as Seth looked out the window.

"What is it?" Tobi asked as she moved forward.

"It's Face," Seth muttered, he smashed out the window and climbed through it," he's late."

The trio eyed each other, Echo moved to the window.

Seth hit the ground and moved towards Face, who was running towards the small collection of houses.

When Face was close he stopped, he seemed to be gasping for air.

Seth noticed his movements were irregular and strangely over the top.

"Why is he pretending to be flustered?" he thought to himself.

Face gasped a few more times then straightened.

"She's gone!" he stated.

Seth took a surprised step back.

"What," he blurted, he slashed the air with his hand," when!?"

"Just a little while ago," Face told him," the others are already following them!"

Seth eyed Face, the man was acting strange, but he'd focus on that later.

A woman's war cry caught his attention, he turned to see the woman from inside the building, she charged him with the knife in hand.

Despite looking normal inside, he now noticed her razor sharp teeth and piercing eyes, her two children were behind her, they ran on limbs that were too long for their bodies.

They moved for Seth, stepping past Echo like he wasn't there.

"A fatal mistake." Seth thought to himself.

Echo grabbed the woman by the neck, he used his strength to break her neck and spun, he threw her into the wall of her home, smashing his collared arm over the head of one of the children and using a knife to slit the throat of the other, by the time he stopped his turning, all three Kishin eggs hung in the air lazily.

He slipped his knife into his overly long sleeve and glanced at Seth, who nodded approvingly.

"And that's why I left them alive," Seth muttered, he turned back to Face," they were cowards who'd attack us while we ran."

His gaze burned into Face's eyes, the man tried to hold it, but Seth's eyes seemed to try to drown him in their blue colour, forcing him to eventually look away.

"I'm assuming she's at the Icy Cauldron." Seth muttered.

Face managed to look at him confused.

"Y-yeah, how'd you know that?" he asked.

Seth glanced at Face.

"That's where I'd take her." He said simply," it's where we'd all go."

His eyes narrowed at Face, who once more glanced to the side.

"You know that." Seth reminded him.

At the Icy Cauldron

Alexis moved through the frozen streets, the place seemed so empty now, but there was a reason for that.

She dragged a body of a witch behind her, and gnawed on some meat that she had found hanging in one of the bars.

"This place is so boring." She sighed, her glowing eyes closed as she shook her head.

A witch leapt out from behind one of the frozen buildings, an onslaught of icicles were shot towards Alexis, who simply swung the body she was carrying in front of her.

The still alive body was skewered by the icicles, and thrashed about in pain, blood rolled from the young witch's mouth.

Alexis looked the witch in the eye and dropped her, pausing to step on the icicle that was imbedded in her stomach, the witch clenched her teeth, but couldn't stop herself from giving into the pain, she wailed loudly, causing Alexis' attacker to take a few steps back, the witch's tired breath billowed in front of her.

Alexis cocked her head, the young witch was pretty, very pretty, with her long, dark red hair, pale skin and sharp, hazel eyes.

Her form was largely covered in a thick coat that had polar bear ears on the hood.

The witch gritted her sharp teeth while Alexis continued to kill her friend.

"This place is so boring." Alexis repeated as she grabbed Ko from his case, with one swing she decapitated the dying witch, her head slammed into a wall and her impaled body stopped moving.

The other witch shut her eyes as tears began to well in them.

"Why are you here!?" she yelled, Alexis eyed her confused," We had a deal!"

Alexis cocked her head once more.

"A deal?" she asked, she giggled sadistically.

A hand on the witch's shoulder made the young witch freeze up.

"I've never heard of any deal." She heard Alexis' voice coo from behind her, despite Alexis being right in front of her.

A tear rolled down the witch's cheek, she managed to look behind her, sure enough there was another Alexis.

She swiped the hand from her shoulder, it felt so real, but she tried to convince herself it wasn't as she moved away from the second Alexis.

"Shut up!" the witch cried," You aren't really there!"

The original Alexis giggled.

"It doesn't really matter where I am now does it?" she giggled, she looked into the eyes of her soon to be prey.

The witch glanced at the body of her friend, someone she'd never see again.

She gritted her teeth and used her magic to create claws on her hand, which she used to slash through the new Alexis, which splattered against the wall and rolled down in bloody chunks.

Blood splattered on the witch's face, she eyed the bloody mess, it was wearing the robes of an Icy Cauldron witch.

Her mouth hung open as she realised what she did, she fell to her knees.

Alexis giggled.

"Don't hurt your friends if you can help it." Alexis laughed, she moved towards the witch, kicking her prey into the bloody mess.

Blood splattered on the witch's face and into her open mouth which she quickly tried to spit out, but Alexis' boot held her in the remains of her friend.

Alexis eyed the witch under her foot.

"What's your name?" she asked as the witch struggled against her, she pressed down on the witch's head when the witch struggled,"Naaaammme?"

The witch sputtered out a response, one that Alexis didn't catch, she reached down and grabbed the back of the witch's neck, pulling her up.

"What was that?" she asked as if nothing was happening.

The witch spat out the blood in her mouth.

"F-Fur." The witch managed.

Alexis smiled and lowered the witch to about her hips.

Alexis' grip on Ko tightened as she spread her feet.

"Nice to meet you Fur," she muttered," but it's time for you to die."

Fur looked around, out in the streets there were bodies, a lot of the witches were dead, only those who managed to flee and those who hid were still alive, except for her, but that would change soon.

Alexis swung Ko for the witch's neck, Fur closed her eyes and waited for the final bite of metal.

Which didn't come as she expected.

Ko's blade kissed her jaw, but never went further than the bone, instead it stopped just at the flesh.

The weapon moaned.

"What," Alexis asked," yes she should die you dolt!"

Ko sighed, Fur was dropped back into the remains of her friend, she scrambled to keep her head out of the blood so she wouldn't drown.

She looked up at Alexis was yelling at her weapon, who would simply moan back.

"Why can't you ever just agree with me!?" she yelled.

Ko remained silent, his blade flexed slightly, as if he was stretching.

He moaned once more, causing Alexis to look straight ahead, her eyes narrowed.

"Do you plan on watching the entire time?" she asked the cold air.

Fur managed to raise herself out of the bloody mess that was once her friend, her own blood dripped from her jawline, she shuddered at how close she had been to death.

She managed to look up at Alexis, she tried to see who she was talking to.

"Awwww," a familiar voice sighed," but this'll take all the fun out of it."

Fur looked on top of the building to her right, sure enough there she was, the genius' pet monster.

Alexis looked up at the tanned girl, who eyed her with her piercing, but surprisingly relaxed eyes.

The girl was crouched with her axe blades resting on the roof of the building, they bit into the shingles.

She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, Fur noticed what looked like bite-marks tattooed onto the bottom left of her neck, just barely peaking over her shirt, with a black coil around her right leg, ending halfway down her calf.

"Yeah," Fur thought to herself," it's her."

Alexis' face turned serious.

"I don't believe we've met." Alexis huffed, her breath billowed.

The tanned girl chuckled to herself for a few seconds.

"Well, well," she giggled, her skin looked to start melting the snow on the roof around her, her breath turned into large clouds of vapor," she can talk, and even think about her words."

The girl leaned towards Alexis, her fingers began to dig into the shingles below her and they began to crack.

"How fascinating," she added, she giggled for a few seconds," I wonder if you're as complex as our chargers."

Alexis' grip tightened on Ko, which the newcomer noticed.

The newcomer's eyes began to sharpen even more, her pupils strained to stay circular, but began to stretch.

Fur thought of leaving, but her movement brought the newcomer's gaze onto her, she froze.

Much to her surprise, the girl waved to her and smiled warmly.

"Hey Fur," she cooed, her voice now calm and motherly," I've got this, you can run along now."

Fur managed to get to her shaking feet.

"R-right," she managed as she began to run away," t-thanks S-Siya!"

Alexis glanced at the witch as she ran, a small smile cracked over her features.

"Siya," she repeated, Siya turned to eye her," no I don't recognise that name, not at all."

Siya grinned, her serrated teeth shone.

"I bet my old friend there does." She muttered, she eyed her bare nails, she waved sarcastically at Ko.

Alexis' eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, now very curious.

Siya glanced at Alexis, her grin widened.

Alexis shifted, she smashed Ko through the building, arcing him upwards as he expanded, the act cut the building almost in half, with him being a large scythe by the time he exited the roof, debris burst from the now destroyed building.

Alexis stood there for a moment, her grip on Ko shifted slightly as she heard movement behind her, but her partner refused to move.

She felt warm flesh being pressed up against her in a strange embrace, she noticed tanned hands touching Ko.

"Such savagery," Siya cooed into her ear," honestly, you're what everyone thinks is the best?"

The skin pressed against Alexis' clothes seemed to start moving away.

"It's a shame, it really is," Siya muttered as she moved away from Alexis," you would've made a nice meal."

At this last comment Alexis spun, bringing Ko to bear, Siya ducked the swing, she remained crouched, her weapon was nowhere to be found.

Alexis shifted her grasp on Ko.

"You have my attention," she stated, her glowing eyes narrowed," what would Ko know about you?"

Siya chuckled, she rose with her hands in her pockets, she shut her eyes and shrugged.

"It really is a shame," she started," if only you'd-"

Alexis putting Ko's blade to Siya's throat stopped her words, even though the metal failed to even touch her skin, she knew it was there.

"I'm not very well known for my patience." Alexis hissed.

Siya put two fingers on Ko's blade and actually began to push it away from her flesh, she shook her head like a disappointed mother.

Alexis strained to keep Ko where he was.

"It is a shame," Siya repeated once more," I'd much rather just kill you, but-"

Siya's words trailed off, her eyes opened and narrowed, staring directly into Alexis'.

"We all have orders to follow." She sighed, her breath billowed into Alexis' face, who gritted her teeth.

She put her second hand on Ko's handle and began to fight harder against Siya, Ko's blade began to move back to Siya's neck.

Siya released the blade, causing it to whirl through the air, if she hadn't moved back at the last moment, she would've been dead.

Siya gazed into Alexis' eyes as she licked up the blood from her fingers.

"What're your orders?" she asked as she did so, her sarcasm was evident.

Alexis tensed.

"I'm here to skin you alive," she hissed," but right before I kill you you'll tell me who you are, I'll make you scream it to the sky."

Alexis spun Ko in her hands, holding him at the ready in his scythe form.

Siya clamped her hands together.

"Oh good," she chuckled," and I thought you just stopped by to say hi."

Alexis gritted her teeth.

"We'll see how enthusiastic you are after I'm through with you." She hissed.

Siya's face relaxed slightly, she cocked her head.

She stomped the snow at her feet, her axe shot upwards the handle soon was gripped in her bare hands.

She gestured to behind Alexis, another axe dislodged the rubble around it and came to her hand, Alexis eyed the two weapons.

Siya ran her thumbs down two blades before flipping the weapons in her hand and repeating this act.

Four streams of blood dripped onto the snow soon after.

"Well don't keep me waiting." Siya challenged, her face boasted a smirk.

The two women tensed, Siya rested one axe on her shoulder, the other was held to the side.

The wind picked up and a stray canvas whipped against it, soon large flecks of snow were shooting in between them.

"Dukh, Telo," Siya huffed, her smile grew," it's time to work."

The two weapons moaned in unison, right before they were swung at Alexis' head.

A few miles away.

"Why are we walking there!?" Kid asked, his heavy coat rippled in the high wind, the snow that began to fall was merciless.

"You'd rather fly there in this weather!?" Drake laughed as he moved unaffected by the snow.

"Well, no but-" Kid started.

"Then quit whining kiddo." Drake shot back, cutting the reaper off.

Kid gritted his teeth.

"There is another reason," Elizabeth started, the other eyed her as they pressed through the storm," the witches here don't like things flying over their town."

She let the others figure out what that meant.

"Why is there a community of witches this far up north?" Maka asked through her coat's hood," You'd think Lord Death would know about it."

"He does know about it." Vlad assured her.

This earned him a look from everyone, including the Altered.

"There's a reason for them to have survived this long," he stated," they made a deal with the reaper, they'd keep to themselves, and he wouldn't send meisters to wipe them all out."

BlackStar snickered slightly.

"Meisters," he repeated," they'd just need to send me."

He laughed loudly.

"That's terrible BlackStar," Tsubaki sighed, her meister stopped laughing and eyed her surprised," really, they just want to be left alone."

Everyone eyed Tsubaki, Maka and Soul exchanged looks.

Suddenly BlackStar halted.

"Weapon clash." he muttered.

"What're you stopping for?" Drake asked as the others lagged behind," We've got a long way to go and a lot of snow to endure, I'd rather keep moving."

The others eyed each other before moving after Drake.

Elizabeth ran up next to Drake.

"You're sure we shouldn't wait?" She asked.

He nodded.

"If we wait around, she'll just disappear," he muttered," we'll have to find her again."

Elizabeth thought about this, she nodded in agreement.

In the distance the clashes of weapons rang out as they grew closer to the settlement.

Siya ducked under the swipe, she flipped and came up on her feet, dodging another attack, she held her axes almost lazily.

"Is that really all you've got?" she asked.

Alexis sprang forward without a word, she threw three knives at Siya, who stepped to the side, dodging all three.

She yawned and flipped through the air, coming to her feet four meters from where Ko struck the ground.

"I'm getting kinda bored here." Siya sighed, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

Alexis gritted her teeth.

"Tough talk," she sighed," but it's just talk."

She leapt at Siya, who simply opened her eyes, she shot Alexis a look that could freeze an open flame.

"That so?" she muttered.

She eyed Alexis' grip on Ko.

She ducked to the side, Ko missed her head by less than an inch, she swung an axe at Alexis' head, but the girl had seen this coming and rolled to the side, with Ko in tow.

Siya spun and her axe sailed through the air, it missed and slammed into a nearby house, the frozen wood practically exploded as splinters flew in every direction.

Siya turned to glance at Alexis, she pulled her axe from the building.

Alexis leapt forward, Siya rolled to the side, as she came up she spun and swung both axes from over her head, they slammed into Ko and were thrust aside, Siya ducked under another knife and rolled to the side.

She hopped forward, but didn't swing her axes, something Alexis didn't plan on as she rolled prematurely.

Siya swung her axe, now following Alexis as she dodged, Ko was brought to bear, metal flashed against metal.

Alexis spun in the air, shifting her feet to land in the heavy snow.

Siya's axe hit the snow, its meister used the opportunity to swing her body over the stuck axe, she used her entire weight to kick Alexis with both feet, Alexis didn't have enough footing to withstand the attack, and was thrown six meters away.

She rolled to her feet and spit out the blackish blood that was in her mouth, her glowing eyes narrowed angrily as she remained in a crouch.

"Why can't we kill her!?" she hissed, her breath billowed out in front of her.

Ko moaned, she gained a smirk.

"Yeah, that could work," she huffed as Ko shifted and shrunk," this should be over quick."

She spread her feet and rose, Ko stopped flexing and she held the meat hook in her hand, a knife gripped in her left hand, she took her boxer's stance.

Siya cocked her head, she rest the axe in her right hand over her shoulder, the other was held out towards Alexis, the tanned girl seemed to have even darker skin.

Her serrated teeth shone as Alexis shifted her weight.

The others were now inside the line of buildings, they peeked through the short alleys, finding nothing.

Eventually they came across some bodies in between two houses, Drake crouched down and rolled one over, it's face was largely gone, as was a lot of skin and bone around the neck, but he could tell it was a young girl, a chain necklace hung around her mauled neck, he glanced at the second, which was leaning up against a building.

"Witch." Maka muttered.

"Not a witch," Drake corrected, he glanced behind him, he pulled the metal necklace from the girl's throat, it snapped after cutting into the little flesh that remain, he tossed it to Maka," it's a Wiccan."

"A Wiccan?" she repeated as she caught the jewelry, she eyed it, the metal was grey with a slight bluish glow, it was in the shape of an icicle.

"They have human followers?" Kid asked, Drake nodded as he moved to the other body.

"What's a Wiccan?" Liz asked.

"Wiccans are humans that aspire to be witches," Elizabeth muttered," they usually have a number of magical items on them, some are wards against spells, others are trinkets that let them cast spells."

The others eyed him.

"They can cast spells?" Soul repeated.

Elizabeth shook her head.

"Yes and no," she admitted, she crouched over the body the necklace came from and pushed in the remaining cheek, it had some resistance as the body was close to freezing," it's just the jewelry that gives them that ability, and most Wiccans can't handle anything more than basic attack and defence spells, anything more-"

She trailed off.

"And they rip themselves apart." Drake finished as he opened the eyes of the other body, they stared into empty space, satisfied he rose, the body's eyelids sagged lazily over the eyes.

"How do you know so much about them?" Kid asked Elizabeth.

She smiled at him and pulled her thick collar down enough for the eye on her neck to be visible, pulling at a number of chains as she did so.

The others stared in awe at the amount of glowing pendants she had hanging around her neck, she had a few that were shaped like leaves, a few snowflakes, trees, flames and even what looked like a sun, among a few others.

What she didn't have a single one of was an icicle.

She held her hand out for the necklace that Maka was wearing, who managed to hand it over, Elizabeth snatched up the piece of jewelry and quickly looped it around her neck, it was laid next to the snowflakes, being one of the few that were solitary among the many other pendants.

She inhaled sharply, then sighed, her breath sent some frozen icicles to the ground, noticeable even with the snow.

She noticed the looks she was getting and simply smiled.

"We all have an experiment to ourselves." Was all she offered as an explanation.

Drake gestured for everyone to stop everything, he shifted his weight.

"I'd get ready if I were you." He muttered.

All the weapons shifted into their respective forms, with BlackStar using his assassin's blade.

They waited for a few seconds, nothing seemed to be coming.

Maka was right next to Drake, the edges of the two buildings were a foot away from them, she couldn't help but swing in surprise when someone bolted towards the group.

Soul soared through the air and hit the person in the chest, despite being a glancing blow, the person was still sent back and they sprawled on the snow.

Maka tensed, she hadn't expected anyone to just run for the group.

She noticed the attire the person was wearing, she noticed the person's soul as well.

"A witch." She blurted as she raised her partner above her head.

She took a step forward, the witch put a hand to her new wound, her hood fell from her head, her long dark hair seemed to burst forth, she glanced at Maka from behind a layer of blood.

The look the witch gave her made her stop moving, Maka never thought she would ever see a witch, or anyone in fact, so sad and drained.

The witch eyed her scythe.

"Well," she sobbed, a tear rolled down her cheek, cutting a small path through the blood," do it already!"

Maka blinked in surprise, she honestly didn't know what to do.

Drake put a hand on Soul's blade, he lowered Maka's weapon for her, which she didn't resist.

He looked at the witch, which Elizabeth was already moving toward.

The witch eyed Elizabeth warily, but when she was close, the witch's eyes widened.

"It's you!" the witch yelped, she rose and hugged Elizabeth tightly, blood still drained from her new wound.

Everyone tensed, except for the Altered, who simply looked on.

Drake waved the others' concerns away.

"It's fine," he stated, he eyed the witch as his sister returned her embrace," she's a friend."

"For the love of Death I thought I'd never see you again!" the witch sobbed, her outburst made everyone eye each other.

"For the love of Death?" Soul repeated," that doesn't sound like something a witch would say."

"That's because it isn't," Elizabeth assured him, she glared at Maka who squirmed under her predatory gaze," watch where you're attacking next time, you could have killed Fur!"

The others exchanged looks.

"Fur?" Kid repeated.

"Yes, Fur," Elizabeth confirmed, she turned back to the crying witch in her arms," that is her name."

The group heard another clash of weaponry, something that had fallen into their list of things to not focus too hard on.

The witch sobbed out a story, she had been bandaged for the bleeding and leant against the wall of an empty alley as the corpses had just made her fall into hysterics.

"She showed up a few days ago," she sobbed, she wiped the tears from her face," she killed anyone who didn't hide or run fast enough."

"I see." Elizabeth sighed as she put a coat around the witch's shoulders and wiped the blood from her face.

"Some of us thought we'd either try to kill her or run away so we left our hiding places," Fur continued," she just toyed with us, made us see things that weren't really there before killing us off one by one."

Elizabeth eyed her brother, who nodded.

"Where are the others who decided to fight?" Drake asked.

Fur put her hands on her ears and shook her head, Elizabeth managed to get her to stop, which she responded to by trying to bury her face in her crossed arms.

"Look around you," she sniffed, she finally managed to look at the others," I'm the only one left."

The group eyed each other.

"That doesn't sound very good for the plan." Kid sighed.

Vlad shook his head.

"What plan can there be for Alexis?" Drake offered, a comment the others agreed with.

Vlad sighed.

"Y-you're here for her?" Fur asked, something gleamed in her eye that wasn't tears.

Drake eyed Fur, he nodded, Fur thought about this.

"We need to find her, but this place is huge," Elizabeth stated," the fighting seems to be coming from all directions in this weather."

Fur blinked.

"I know where they are," she stated, her eyes now clear of tears, the others eyed her surprised, her tone was completely different, she began to rise," I'll take you there myself."

"No you stay here-" Elizabeth tried, she put a hand on Fur's shoulder.

"And what about my friends?" Fur asked, she brushed Elizabeth's hand away," I was going back into hiding because Siya gave me the chance to, I wasn't leaving the settlement."

All of the Altered eyed each other.

"Siya?" Kid repeated," another witch?"

Fur shook her head.

"No, I assumed she was with you guys," she admitted," her and the doctor seemed to be friends with you whenever we'd talk."

Drake moved forward, he was about to start yelling questions, but the look his sister gave him was enough for him to lower his pulse and calm down.

He took a breath.

"The doctor?" he asked.

Fur eyed him like he was insane.

"Y-yeah, he and Siya sometimes wander our streets." She managed," with her being here that means he still is too."

Drake began to walk past her.

"Where's this fight going on?" he asked over his shoulder," we'll meet your doctor later."

Elizabeth pushed Fur forward gently, she jogged up to her brother.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" she whispered.

He nodded.

"Yeah," he muttered," Greg's still here."

Siya leapt back, Alexis' meat hook missed her stomach by an inch, something Siya had to praise.

"This new style works far better against me than the other." She thought to herself as she moved her hands to the centre of her axes' shafts.

She spun the weapons and blocked three knives from striking her and rolled to the side, Alexis slashed the ground where Siya had been mere moments before hand.

The knives returned to Alexis as she rose, slipping into her sleeves as she turned to face Siya.

Alexis expected her opponent to start tiring, or at the very least to be demoralised by how she`d inevitably lose, but Siya still had a smirk on her face.

Alexis gritted her teeth, her grip on her weapons tightened angrily.

"How is she so confident?" Alexis asked herself," my wavelength's activated right now!"

Siya laughed for a moment.

"Starting to get the picture?" she asked seriously as she put one axe over her shoulder again.

Alexis growled angrily, her glowing eyes narrowed.

Siya's face changed to an almost neutral but curious expression, she glanced to the buildings to her right, but only for a second, her smile flickered for a moment as she eyed the angry Alexis.

Maka ducked behind the corner.

"Did she see me?" she asked herself, she forced herself back over to the edge," no, she didn't"

She sighed with relief, that had been close.

She watched the others as they took up positions behind various houses and snow banks.

She eyed Alexis, who seemed different somehow, but she couldn't quite see how.

Drake must have noticed her expression from where he was beside her.

"It's her eyes," he muttered," that or it's how she carries herself."

She glanced at him surprised.

"But it's actually both," he stated, he eyed her," she's not the same as before."

Maka nodded and turned back to the fight.

She eyed the person who almost spotted her, the person was very tanned and wearing very little clothing for the environment, just a t-shirt and shorts with no shoes at all.

She marveled at the woman's ability to wear so little that far below freezing.

She shifted her grasp on Soul, but Drake grabbed her wrist, she turned to him but he simply shook his head.

"We can't go yet," he told her in a hushed tone," if we make our move now she may run away."

Maka thought about this for a moment.

"Not to mention we don't know who the other one is." She sighed.

Drake slowly let Maka go.

"Right," he said in an almost sarcastic tone," we don't."

Maka eyed him as the two combatants continued to stare each other down.

She turned back to the fight.

Siya knew she had seen something, not very much, just the flash of clothing, it moved with too much purpose to be a stray piece of cloth, her grip on her axes shifted, loosened.

Alexis noticed this and tightened her grip on her weapons and shifted her weight.

Much to Alexis' surprise, Siya launched herself forward, her hands shifted on her axes, she gripped them at the base of the blades.

Alexis rolled to the side, dodging just in time to get the jump on Siya, which she exploited greedily.

Alexis used Ko to hook her opponent's shoulder, and pulled her from her feet, swinging her around and throwing her into a building.

Kid flinched at the sound of something heavy hitting the building just to the side of the snow bank he was hiding behind, he glanced at the bloody woman who was at the base of the building.

He glanced at Alexis before moving to help this person, Vlad's hand on his shoulder stopped him however, he turned to the Altered who simply shook his head.

Kid sighed and hunkered back down as Siya shifted.

Siya rose, her shoulder was dislocated, though it was her left, but it was still something to take into account.

She stooped to pick up the single axe that was close to her in her right hand.

Despite them pain in her shoulder, she smiled widely, she gazed to her right and saw arather familiar face, Death the Kid, and beside him was Vladmir.

She was tempted to blow them a kiss, but she had things to do at the moment, but Vlad must have seen the look she gave them, as he nodded to her.

She smiled widely and moved back towards Alexis, who was waiting patiently with a dripping weapon.

Siya stopped next to her second axe.

Alexis shifted her back into her boxer's stance, she hopped from foot to foot.

Siya eyed Alexis, she slammed the flat head of her axe into her left shoulder, the joint snapped back into place with a very loud crunch, which was heard even by Maka over the wind.

Alexis tensed and her fingers danced on the handles of her weapons as Siya rolled her relocated shoulder.

Siya stooped and grasped the shaft of her second weapon, her shoulder still dripped slowly.

Even before she rose Alexis was running towards her, Ko slammed into Siya's side and Alexis' knife sailed through the air, Siya flipped backwards narrowly dodging the knife, but dodging it nonetheless.

She hopped to her feet and moved forward, Alexis shifting into her stance once more.

Siya swung her axes with Alexis dodging at the last moment, Alexis slashed Siya's left achillies tendon, the woman tripped and fell forward.

Alexis laughed as the woman seemed to struggle.

"Not so tough now are you?" she asked as she laughed.

Her laughter stopped when she heard Siya chuckle as well, Siya rose on one foot, she swung her axes around and remained perfectly balanced, she beckoned Alexis, who gritted her teeth and sprang forward.

Drake sighed and shook his head.

"She did always like to play with her food." He muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Maka asked.

He glanced at her before grinning.

"Nothing important." He sighed.

Siya rolled to the side with surprising dexterity, especially since her left leg was useless.

Alexis swiped empty air, not expecting her prey to still be able to dodge, Siya's axe was barely deflected, but Siya simply spun on one foot and swung again, which Alexis had to dodge by rolling backwards.

Alexis felt like she was being mocked, her teeth seemed close to bursting out of her skull from how clenched her jaw was, with her knuckles having a similar sensation.

Finally, her patience gave out, something finally snapped.

"THAT'S IT!" she screamed as she leapt forward.

She ducked under Siya's axe and swiped the arm it was in, it took three slashes to get the woman to drop the weapon, but instead of a reflex action, Siya tried to grab Alexis with her now free hand, with her other axe being aimed at Alexis' head.

Alexis rolled to the side, she slashed at the woman's gut, but only managed to get her hip, a flesh wound at most.

Again Siya's axe was swung at Alexis without the wounds being registered, which Alexis responded with rolling under the swipe, cutting Siya's stomach.

Alexis spun and dodged another attack, she had had enough.

She rolled forward, knocking the axe from her opponent's grasp mid-swing as she spun, she aimed the knife behind her as she rose, Alexis' knife landed in Siya's gut, Alexis facing the same way as Siya, the woman behind her.

Siya's blood felt warm on Alexis' fingers as she stood there, after a few seconds the sound of Siya's axe hitting the ground was heard, along with her warm flesh slumping onto Alexis' back once more.

Alexis closed her eyes.

"Done." She sighed, she flexed her fingers on her meat hook.

Kid watched in awe as Alexis finished her opponent, it seemed so unreal.

"Wow." was all he could manage with Vlad eyeing him.

Drake watched as Maka stared with her mouth agape, it was obvious she hadn't expected that either.

Drake sighed, as did Vlad.

Both noticed Siya's fingers twitching.

"You really do love playing with your food," they both muttered," Siya."

Alexis sighed, the fight had been fun, but now that it was over she could get back to the mission.

She was about to relax fully when she felt something that grabbed her attention, a heartbeat.

"What?" she muttered, Siya's flesh was still pressed against Alexis' back," her heart shouldn't be that strong!"

Siya's arms wrapped around Alexis' body in a lazy hug, Alexis tried to move, but couldn't.

"Do you know how much this hurts?" Siya whispered into her ear, Alexis was frozen in place, but couldn't figure out why.

She heard Siya giggle.

"It's like death itself," Siya sighed," how nice."

She giggled again.

"You should be dead." Alexis managed through her shock.

Siya laughed at this, a bloody hand reached up to Alexis' mouth it traced a red circle around the right of her mouth, the blood rolled down to her chin.

"Really," Siya asked," I had no idea."

Despite the comment, her tone was dead serious.

Alexis managed to glance behind her, Siya's face no longer had a large grin on it, it was slightly more serious, but the corners of her mouth still perked upwards.

"How can you just survive this?" Alexis asked, she struggled to bring the knife upwards in Siya's stomach, it slowly moved, cutting the flesh and letting an obscene amount of blood stream out, Siya's shirt turned from pale beige to dark red in a matter of seconds, but she didn't seem to mind.

She slowly reached down and stopped the knife from moving upwards anymore, she bared her sharp teeth, a look that made Alexis actually think of the situation she was in, it wasn't looking good.

"Now why would you keep doing that if you knew it hurt?" Siya asked, her eyes were sharp, predatory, she moved forward to wisper into Alexis' ear," Do you want to know how it feels?"

Alexis let go of her knife and pushed away from the woman, who clung to her arms as she did so.

Alexis eventually got away from the groping woman, she spun to face her, her grip on Ko got even tighter.

Siya's arms were out in front of her, the knife was stuck into her stomach and actually came out her back, the cut upwards only moved an inch, but it bled vigorously.

Alexis eyed Siya as the woman easily removed the knife from her stomach and dropped it.

Just as the blade stuck into the ground, what looked like red steam rose from Siya's skin, her wounds began to close, blood rushed back into her veins just as easily as it left them, moving back into the cuts the blood came from in the first place.

Alexis watched in awe, the woman was healing at a very alarming rate, even compared to the Altered it was unnatural for such fatal wounds to heal so quickly.

Siya's achilles tendon stitched itself back together and the skin seemed to reform itself over it, it looked like nothing had ever happened to the ankle in the first place, as was the case with all of the wounds Siya gained from the fight.

Her hair had fallen in front of her face, but her mouth was still in a smirk, she paused to spit out some blackish blood, which actually caused the snow to melt and evaporate into steam.

Alexis watched as this happened, she was unable to look away.

"H-how?" she asked no one in particular, her voice suddenly turned fierce," I'm the strong one!"

Siya laughed heartily, her skin seemed to darken, the snow around her began to melt and give off steam.

She sighed heavily, her breath looked like a cloud of thick, white smoke.

"Is that so?" she asked, her skin now looked heavily burned and red, like she had a full body sunburn," Well, well, you are very fascinating, unable to see potential threats as superior to you."

Alexis rushed forward, as she approached she swore she could feel the heat coming from Siya's body, Ko soared through the air towards Siya's head, but the woman blocked the blow by deliberately getting him stuck in her forearm, Alexis pulled on her weapon partner, but he was through Siya's arm and out the other side, he wasn't coming free very easily.

Siya leaned forward, Alexis could definitely feel the heat on her breath, it felt like fire.

Before she could speak, Siya looked behind her, her smile grew as a statue in the centre of town shifted.

"He's here." She muttered happily.

The group was appalled by the recent turn of events, that is except for the Altered.

The others, however had no idea what to think of the situation.

But once the statue in the centre of town started moving, the Altered shifted to begin an attack.

"You three will go for Greg," Drake muttered to Maka, as the other Altered were doing the same with those near them," we'll make sure nothing happens to Alexis."

Maka eyed Drake.

"You never said Greg would still be here." She stated, she eyed him accusingly.

Drake shook his head.

"We don't know if it is Greg," he admitted," but Siya is here with someone, we want to know who."

Maka thought for a moment before nodding.

All three meisters tensed as the statue shifted even more, though at some distance, it was obvious when it stopped.

G stretched his arms and yawned, it had been some time since the last time he had fought anything, let alone a number of Altered and a few DWMA meisters.

"But," he muttered under his breath," it's not like I'm getting any weaker."

He turned to look through the heavy, vault-like door, Kahl was on the other side with his weapon beside him.

"A shame that I'll have to fight in your stead." G huffed, Kahl looked to the side, the stitches on his neck flexed.

G grinned slightly, the first show of emotion in a long time, he moved to the ladder on the other side of the ice corridor.

He put his hands on the frozen rungs and began to ascend, he turned back to Kahl, who was giving him a lazy salute, G chuckled and returned the two finger salute and pulled himself above ground.

Maka's pulse quickened as a figure rose from the ground, she could only see the left of his face, and despite him wearing some glasses, she was certain it was Greg, there was no mistaking it.

She turned to Drake, who nodded, she leapt towards Greg and ran full sprint, the others were sent out right as she reached him, Soul was raised high.

Greg turned to face her, she blinked in surprise.

"Isn't half his face supposed to be gone?" she thought to herself as she slashed forward, Greg stayed where he was, he didn't move.

Maka completed her slash, she stayed where she was, expecting blood to hit the snow at any time, but it never did, she turned to look at Greg, who simply brushed at the cut in his shirt, he glanced at Maka.

He wasn't even scratched.

He moved his hand towards her, she leapt back before he could grab her.

When she saw the expression on his face, she was slightly scared, he looked curious, it reminded her of the first time she met , a night that still bothered her to that day.

She shook her head clear of the thought, it would only distract her.

Greg began to walk towards her, she stood strong and braced for an attack, but it never came.

She watched as he strode right past her, she cocked her head confused.

"Where is he going?" Soul asked, Maka shook her head.

She followed where Greg was moving, and realised he was moving to help Siya with Alexis.

She leapt forward and slammed Soul's blade into Greg's neck and pulled, a move that would have decapitated most Kishin eggs.

She struggled and strained, her eyes screwed shut, she shifted so that she was actually facing the opposite way to him as she pulled and still he refused to even move.

"Are you quite done?" he asked, she opened her eyes, but still tried to cut him in this way.

"C'mon Maka!" she heard Kid call, she turned to glance his way, but soon found herself sliding across the snow.

Greg was actually pulling her along, he wasn't even straining.

"What's with this guy!?" she asked no one in particular as he kept walking as if nothing was happening.

The only trail he left was Maka's boots being dragged behind him, not a single drop of blood had been shed yet.

Greg glanced to the right, he stopped moving, allowing Maka time to free her weapon from his neck, which wasn't even bruised.

"A reaper," he muttered," not too bad there kiddo."

His tone caught Maka off guard, it sounded almost friendly, almost.

Kid replied by shooting the man, his wavelength impacted Greg's chest, shoulders and face, but the man refused to even blink, his clothes were now a wreck and his glasses cracked and shattered.

He pried his glasses from his face as BlackStar stabbed him in the gut, the blade didn't even go past the skin though, which surprised the assassin.

Greg reeled his hand back and backhanded BlackStar's neck, the assassin flew back about six meters and landed in a heap, he spat blood from his mouth.

"Are you OK BlackStar?" Tsubaki asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." He assured her.

Greg looked over the three meisters, he seemed unimpressed as he dropped his broken glasses to the snow.

"Unfortunate," he sighed," I'd thought you'd overshadow your reputation, but I suppose you can only wish for so much."

He glanced at the others, who were in the process of restraining Alexis, with some difficulty.

Kid shot the man's cheek, Greg turned back to the reaper.

"You're looking the wrong way." Kid hissed as he shifted into his combat stance.

"Ain't that the truth." BlackStar chuckled as he took his place beside Kid.

Maka sighed and shifted her weight.

Greg looked them all over.

"All right then," he muttered," I'll see what you can do for five minutes."

BlackStar snickered.

"You'll be dead in less than one second!" he shouted as he charged Greg." Tsubaki, enchanted sword mode!"

"Right!" she muttered as she shifted forms, tattoos crawled on BlackStar's skin as the black blade took shape.

Greg eyed the weapon with interest, but didn't try to dodge.

Instead he blocked the attack with an arm, which shifted from the blow, his balance shifted slightly, which BlackStar used to slash his stomach and then slam the older man to the ground.

Or so it should have been, the final slash only caused the man to slouch against the blade on the back of his neck, but he rose to full height soon enough.

Even BlackStar took a few steps back, surprised, he didn't know what to think or do.

"My turn." Kid huffed, his soul expanded and his partners shifted and grew," keep him busy."

Maka and BlackStar nodded as they raised their weapons to attack.

"Do they really need to keep him busy?" Liz asked her meister," we have gotten pretty good at this."

Kid grinned as three spikes formed on his arms.

"True, but I think we should make sure these actually hit," Kid offered as he hit the ground, the DeathCannons were formed," wouldn't want to just waste these shots."

Liz sighed, he did have a point though.

He took aim with his weapons as BlackStar and Maka swung at Greg, the man blocked each swing easily, only dodging when he seemed to want to.

Kid gritted his teeth.

"Firing DeathCannon." He said loud enough for the others to hear him, they moved in time for the shot to be fired.

Greg heard this too, but instead of move, which Kid thought he'd do, he stood his ground and simply waited to be shot.

The blast carried Greg from the ground and into the wall of a building, Kid grinned as he lowered his cannons, he froze when he saw that Greg was slowly pulling himself out of the wrecked house, he looked completely unharmed.

"Wha-"Kid blurted, he began to take aim once more.

"Three." Greg muttered, he spat out a rock that was in his mouth and glanced at all three meisters.

Maka shifted, they weren't doing anything to him.

"Maka, let's go," Soul prompted," it's our turn now."

"But we don't even know what'll hurt him." She muttered, recalling that even Kishin hunter hadn't served its purpose when it needed to the most against Asura, they couldn't afford another thing like that happening, not against someone like Greg.

If even half of what she learned about him was true, they'd lose no matter what they used, especially if it didn't work.

She shifted her stance and linked her soul with her weapon's, both began to concentrate.

"I say we try Genie hunter right off the bat," Soul managed," I don't think Witch hunter's going to cut it!"

"Yeah ok!" she agreed as Soul shifted and flexed, his blade grew and turned in various places until he resembled a colossal axe rather than a scythe.

Maka held her weapon at the ready, much to her surprise, Greg was waiting patiently, even though both Kid and BlackStar were continuing their attacks, his eyes looked at her as he blocked and ducked attacks.

She gritted her teeth and ran forward.

Kid noticed her movement.

"Move BlackStar!" he called as even he leapt back.

BlackStar turned to where Maka was and, seeing that she was sprinting forward ready to swing, decided it was best to just move.

Maka swung as BlackStar was clear, she expected Greg to dodge or block, but he simply stood there to take the attack.

Just before the blow struck home he muttered a single word.

"One." Was all he said as the attack struck him.

Maka expected him to simply brush off the blow, but she was surprised with his body being cut in half and sailing through the air, even as it splattered the snow with blood.

His body parts landed in the snow heavily, the three meisters looked at each other, almost confused.

"I-is that it?" Soul asked, surprise very evident in his tone.

"I-I guess so." Maka managed.

Kid glanced over to the others, who were still fighting to restrain Alexis, but it seemed that that would be over soon enough.

He took one step towards the others, when he heard a sound.

It sounded like clapping, slow clapping.

He stopped and looked around.

He saw Greg on a roof, his shirt had a few cuts in it and looked ragged and his glasses were gone, but he looked fine, he wasn't even bruised.

"Wha- how!?" Maka blurted, she looked back at the body parts, they were still there.

Greg stopped clapping.

"Not bad, not bad," he huffed," but I think a random corpse is not what you were aiming at."

Maka glanced at him.

Kid eyed the body parts, they seemed to flex and fade, but in reality they turned into a Wiccan corpse, it was just a substitution.

"Sick." Kid muttered.

Greg huffed in amusement.

"Is that so?" he asked," well, I've seen what you can do."

He rose with his eyes closed, he cracked his neck and knuckles and sighed.

"Now it's your turn to see what I can do." He muttered as his blue eyes flashed open and glowed slightly.

The three meisters shifted their stances.

Drake moved to grab Alexis, she leapt away from him again, she seemed to try to get to Greg, but she knew she wouldn't be able to given the amount of opposition.

Vlad swung a knife at Alexis and Elizabeth even shot a few spells at her, but since they weren't actually trying to hurt her, their attacks were ineffective on every level.

Siya moved to try to grab hold of Alexis again, with Ko still lodged in her arm, but Alexis was especially wary of her, jumping away even at the hint of Siya moving towards her.

Drake followed her movements and was about to move when he saw someone on the roof of a house, a welcome silhouette.

Drake changed his strategy and jumped for her, she moved in such a way that she came very close to the building.

"Gotcha." Drake sighed as he hit the ground.

Seth dropped down with Face and Echo, they managed to get their hands on Alexis and hold her in place, even though she struggled, they managed to get her remaining knife away from her.

Drake rose almost lazily and approached the writhing Alexis as she was still in their grasp, he lit a cigarette and pulled a collar similar to his own out from his clothes.

She eyed him as he approached, he had to force her to move her neck, but he eventually had the collar in place, with the push of a button electricity coursed through Alexis' body, her muscles tensed as the others let her go, she fell into the snow and flailed about trying to get the collar off, but as time went on her movements proved to be too jerky and she was unable to do so before the collar knocked her out.

Drake sighed, smoke billowed from his mouth as he nudged Alexis onto her back so she wouldn't suffocate.

"What a long day." He muttered, he eyed his brother and crossed his arms over his chest," What the hell took you guys so long?"

Seth was about to speak when three screams of pain wailed over the battlefield, everyone turned to where the meisters were fighting Greg.

Everyone, even the weapons were on the ground, clutching their heads and wailing in pain, with Greg just standing there, looking at the meisters.

"C'mon!" Vlad ordered as he ran forward, he turned to Echo and Siya," make sure she doesn't go anywhere!"

"Got it!" they both replied before eyeing each other.

Maka stumbled again, how many times had she done that already?

She didn't know and honestly didn't care, all she cared about was getting out of the place she was in.

But where was she, why was she there, how did she even get there?

Again she didn't have any answers, and couldn't be bothered to find any.

She ran through the corridor and slammed into the wall and quickly pushed off to move down the corridor.

"Why am I running?" she asked herself," why am I trying to get out, am I being chased?"

Again questions formed in her head, but answers mocked her as she ran for no readily apparent reason.

She looked behind her, she thought she had seen something there, or had she?

She couldn't be sure as she burst through another bloody door, the sticky red liquid stuck to her fingers and arms, she had already run through more than she could count, but she couldn't bring her burning legs to stop moving.

"Where am I," she asked herself once more," what's going on?"

She slammed into another wall she hadn't realised had come up, she turned and pushed past it and kept running.

"I am being chased right?" she asked herself," yeah, yeah, that must be it, why else would I keep running for so long?"

The thought of being followed by someone didn't make her feel any better, in fact it made her legs move even faster as she burst through another door.

She turned another corner and almost immediately hit a wall, when she turned she was faced with another, spinning around only served to fuel her nagging fear.

It was a dead end, the only way was back the way she came, but she didn't even want to look that way.

Eventually she did force herself to look, but there was something there, she couldn't exactly see it, it looked – hazy, like a camera that was out of focus had taken a picture.

She didn't know what it was, or its significance, but couldn't bring herself to look away, or even face it bravely.

"Why – can't I move?" she asked herself when she realised she actually couldn't move a muscle, she couldn't even blink.

The thing moved closer, its head seemed strange looking and it moved irregularly, like it was on a swivel, it seemed to spin and sway.

It came into focus a few seconds later, it was Greg, he was walking strangely, he moved towards her in an almost drunken manner, he swayed with every step.

He hummed a song, one she didn't recognise, what she did recognise was the scalpel in his hand as he approached, it dripped with blood, leaving a trail behind his drunken stride.

He stopped a few feet from her and eyed her up and down, a curious look on his face, he raised the scalpel to her face, she strained to not look at it, but her eyes moved by themselves, she screamed inside her head but her mouth refused to comply.

He raised a hand to her jaw, turning her head from side to side, looking it over as if looking for where to start cutting, finally he started moving the scalpel towards her eye, she stared at it.

Just as it came into contact with her eye, she blinked, her eyes opened to the inside of a hospital room, she sighed heavily, she was safe.

Or was she, she didn't know, but she was glad to be out of the endless corridors.

"Or I guess they did end." She thought to herself, but she quickly shook her head free of the thought.

She heard something, it sounded like a blade hitting meat, a sound she was somewhat accustomed to.

As she began to try and look around, she noticed that there was blood on the ceiling, the only clear spot was right above her head, which was why she hadn't noticed it earlier, but then again, it wasn't there earlier.

The sound repeated, then again a few seconds afterwards.

She swallowed hard and forced herself to look through the room.

And seriously wished she hadn't.

On a number of other beds were a number of bodies, all mutilated and mangled, the closest of which she could still recognise as Kid, Liz, Patti, BlackStar, Tsubaki and-

Soul was not among them, she started to panic and tried to move, but she was strapped into the bed, she looked around desperately trying to find a way out of the room as her friends' dead eyes stared at her, tears began to form in her eyes.

Someone entered the room, she looked at Greg's face, his glasses shone in the red stained lighting.

He moved to one of the bodies, but seemed to notice she was awake, she moved to Maka's bed and leaned over her.

"Nice to see you're alive and well." He muttered," I was afraid I'd have to prep you for dissection, what a waste that would've been."

He shook his head and moved to behind her head, she tried to look at him, but he started pushing her bed out of the room, she cast one last look at her mutilated friends as she left the room, their eyes seemed to beckon her back to them.

She struggled against her bonds, but ultimately she couldn't move them enough to escape.

He pushed her through what felt like endless halls and doors, they had a striking resemblance to the corridors she had just spent what felt like forever running through, but they had doors on the sides as well.

Eventually they crossed to the final hall, which was much shorter than the others, but it had a door on the end, the entire time Maka heard the same sound from before, a dull sound of a blade striking raw meat, the sound of too much violence.

Maka's bed was pushed through the final door, and she wished she hadn't woken up.

There was a girl dressed in a school uniform, or was it a nurse's outfit?

It was white and ended just past her knees, she raised a knife, likely a cleaver and slammed it down again, the same sound was the result, but this time it was so loud it rang in Maka's ears.

Greg stopped pushing Maka into the room, the person raised the cleaver again, but didn't slam it down, she turned to look who it was, a slightly bored look was on the disturbingly familiar face.

Maka's eyes widened as she realised who it was.

It was her, the bloodstained nurse was her.

The copy's greenish hair was speckled red, as was her face and neck, her clothes were absolutely drenched in blood, which was evident when she turned, she had obviously been at work for a long time as some of the blood had begun to turn brown.

She grinned at Maka, who noticed that the copy's eyes were surprisingly relaxed, almost bored, they had no shine to them, the light didn't affect them, they looked past Maka's flesh and into her very soul.

"You," her copy began, it slammed the cleaver into what was on the table, blood spattered in all directions, some managed to reach Maka," are late."

Greg huffed in amusement as he move towards the copy, he wiped some of the blood from the bridge of its nose with his thumb, which prompted it to smile like a child.

Greg moved to the head of the bed the cleaver was still stuck in.

He moved it, revealing Soul lying in the bed, the cleaver was stuck in his sliced up stomach, Maka's pulse quickened, she fought against her restraints, but they held firm, right before she lost sight of Soul, he seemed to try to reach out for her, to call her name, but the door slammed shut, and she was left alone, with a murderous copy of herself.

Her copy giggled into her hand and approached Maka's bed.

"Oooh," it cooed as it pushed the bed where Soul's had been," so cute."

Maka struggled against her restraints, she had the image of breaking free and escaping, but immediately knew that that was far from her reach.

Her copy picked up a scalpel from the bench beside the bed, it flipped it in its hand, eyeing it with a dead eyed stare, its pupils were so large it was unnatural.

Maka watched as the copy moved the scalpel over her hand, it pressed the blade into the palm of her hand, an act she felt every second of, it wasn't the most pain she'd ever felt, but pain was still pain, something that was readily apparent when the copy reached for a slightly larger scalpel, only to repeat this for every square inch of Maka's right arm.

Tears rolled down Maka's face as she gritted her teeth, another blade slipped through her flesh, she bit her lip and blood fell from her mouth.

Her copy noticed this once her arm was covered from palm to shoulder, it looked around for something.

"Are you scared?" it asked.

Maka hadn't anticipated the question, she stayed with a clenched jaw, the copy ran a scalpel into her ribs, the pain brought her to her senses once more.

"I said," the copy started slowly," are you scared?"

"N-no." she lied, she gritted her teeth.

Her copy sighed and moved away from the bed.

"He really is a bad influence," she commented as she looked over a number of wicked looking blades that were hanging off a wall, Maka turned her head to look, her copy glanced at her," Soul I mean."

Maka's eyes narrowed.

"What do you know!?" she spat.

Her copy giggled as she swung a large knife through the air.

"WE know a lot actually," it stated, it glanced at her as it put the knife back on the wall," you know that."

Maka winced at the pain in her arm as the copy grabbed another knife.

"If he's able to make you lie to even yourself," it continued as it pricked its finger on the blade's tip," he really is a bad influence."

It turned to her.

"But I guess that's just what we like," it muttered as it shrugged," life's too short to be good."

Maka sighed heavily, she tried to focus on the conversation, she spoke to distract herself.

"We?" she repeated.

The copy giggled.

"Of course silly," it huffed, it looked over the state of its clothes and glanced in a mirror," even with this blood you should recognise me."

Maka shook her head.

"No not really." She lied.

Her copy sighed, it flicked it's wrist in her direction, the knife in its hand stuck into the bed less than an inch from Maka's eyes, blocking her view.

"More lies," she heard it mutter," we need to work on how you talk to me."

The knife was pulled from her view, she half expected to just be stabbed then and there, but her copy moved away again.

"Who are you?" Maka managed to ask, she shifted and the blades in her arms stung.

Her copy glanced at her, it chuckled for a few seconds.

"You've met me before," it stated as it hung the knife back up," though it has been a while, I'm guessing you don't remember."

Maka strained to search her memory, but nothing surfaced through the sea of pain.

"As if that really matters," the copy sighed as it swung a large blade through the air, it looked like a curved shortsword, but as Maka watched she realised it was a massive pair of scissors, her copy snipped the air with them," it's just like madness in the world, it can't be helped."

Her copy moved forward, Maka strained to keep her eyes off of the tool in its hand.

The copy leaned onto the bed, it looked into Maka's eyes.

"I thought the black blood was-" she started, her copy put a hand over her mouth, it snapped the large scissors in the air.

"Compare me to that amateur again and I'll give you a proper lesson in pain," it hissed," now shall you guess again?"

The copy's hand moved away from her mouth, Maka fought to choose her words carefully.

"Well then what are you!?" she asked finally, the pain in her arm was temporarily forgotten.

Her copy grinned slightly, it moved in close to Maka's face.

"Y'know," it started," we've come across quite a few like us."

Maka looked into the copy's eyes.

"Like who?" she asked.

"Try everyone you've met over the past few months," it sighed," we're all pretty similar."

Maka eyed her copy confused.

"W-what?" she managed," the Altered?"

Her copy nodded.

"Yup," it confirmed, it pushed itself just away from the bed and began to move to the other side," strange how you've never found out."

Maka watched the copy as it moved to her right arm, blood still dripped from the limb.

"How are we similar?" she asked, her curiosity overtook the pain.

Her copy giggled for a second, it began to quickly rip the many scalpels from Maka's flesh, they hit the ground with metallic pings as pain caused Maka to strain against her restraints.

As quickly as it started, the pain began to fade, Maka opened her eyes and eyed her copy once more, it had the scissors over her fingers, it seemed ready to cut them off.

"W-wait!" she managed, her copy glanced at her a small smile on its face.

It moved the tip of the tool in front of Maka's face.

"Or what?" it asked as it nicked her nose, blood rolled down her cheek," you'll kill me, I don't think that's happening anytime soon."

The tool moved back to Maka's fingers as blood ran to the floor of the room.

Just as Maka's fingers were pressed into the sharp blades, she bolted upwards, she tucked her right arm close to her body.

Something yelped at her left and a loud crash was heard, she screamed as her arm throbbed in pain.

Something grabbed her, she tried to move away from it.

"Relax, relax!" it kept saying," it's me!"

Eventually she realised it was Soul's voice, his concerned face was a few inches from hers, she stared in disbelief.

Just as he was about to say something, she broke out into tears and hugged him tightly, he couldn't even react he was so surprised.

"What the hell happened to you?" he managed to ask finally.

"I see she's awake," she heard from behind Soul, she looked behind her partner and tried to shrink into her hospital bed," I was beginning to think she'd need to be shipped back home."

Soul sighed and turned.

"Thanks to you." He almost spat.

Greg shrugged, he moved towards the foot of Maka's bed.

"You aren't in any danger." He stated simply as he grabbed the clip board on the end of the bed.

She shook her head.

He noticed this and shook his head.

"I'm not Greg." He stated, something that surprised her," Call me G."

"Whether you are Greg or not doesn't really change much." Maka admitted, still trying to move away from G.

He sighed.

"What happened to you wasn't intended," he stated, he looked the files on the clipboard over," really, I apologise."

Soul shook his head.

"Whatever." He hissed.

Maka eyed G.

"What happened to me?" she repeated.

Soul looked her in the eye.

"You've been out for three days." He stated.

"WHAT!" she shrieked, her eyes moved from her partner to G and back again.

"See I told you she'd freak out." She heard BlackStar chuckle, she looked past Soul in time to see the others walk into the door.

"Yeah, yeah." Kid muttered.

Her friends filed into the room and stood at the foot of Maka's hospital bed, Kid shot G a look.

Soul sighed.

"I guess that you're good now." He muttered with a slight smile.

"Soul barely left your side for anything," Tsubaki commented," it was pretty cute."

"Hey watch it!" Soul shot back," I am not cute!"

The others laughed, with the exception of Kid and Maka, who were staring at G.

"I suppose some introductions are in order," G sighed as the laughter died down, he moved closer to Maka, she eyed him warily.

What she didn't expect was his hand being out stretched for her to shake.

"I'm G," he stated, he smiled, but it only served to fuel her uneasiness," the Body and Soul meister."

Maka's eyes widened at this title, she stared at him.

Eventually she managed to shake his hand, but she still couldn't process what was happening.

"Welcome to my home." Was all she heard before he left, the second the door was closed the others swarmed her.

She stared at a mirror on the far side of the room, she saw herself standing in it, her reflection waved at her, it was dressed in her school uniform, but its eyes still looked strange.

"Keep your friends close." It muttered before disappearing into the glass pane, it smiled at her before disappearing completely.

Even as her friends swarmed over her, she looked at her hands.

"What happened to me?" she asked herself silently, a question she couldn't answer.

**Author's Note: ****finally my computer worked for a few days.**

**Hey it's me, Gorse.**

**Thought I'd write a long chapter for you guys seeing as I went almost a month without posting anything, or was it over** **a month.**

**Whatever, it doesn't matter at this point, water flows, birds fly and my computer dies when I need it most.**

**It might as well be a force of nature.**

**Anyway, I hope you like how I'm doing this so far, kudos to those who see where this is going, as I kinda like it.**

**For those of you who don't, well, just stick around for the ride, you'll find out soon enough.**

**Anyway, new character, yay, honestly I don't know what made me create Fur, seriously I just wrote it in without thinking, but whatevs.**

**I think you learning a tad more about Elizabeth was a long time coming, if I'm correct in this, this is her first section of actually being in a combat situation in the story, even if it wasn't very in depth.**

**Look forward to learning how she actually fights in future chapters, not to mention Siya.**

**She's got a few surprises attached to her no doubt, I'd look for more info on her as well. **

**I'll upload the next chapter as quickly as my computer allows so at some point.**

**Hope you guys watched Breaking Bad's finale, I can't be the only one who found it crazy that Jesse called up the Avengers to save those children from that volcanic eruption, talk about intense!**

**For those of you who have a bicycle pump stuck in your skull, that's a joke telling you to watch Breaking Bad and isn't actually a spoiler. (duh)**

**Anyway, I've gotten some…. uh requests… for My Own Private Hill, the Silent Hill story I'm starting up at some point in the future (or is it already done?) which will give you guys some info on me.**

**Or on this personality at least, I do have a few. (I do not suffer from Split Personality Disorder for the record)**

**There was even a review asking if Slender man was going to be included.**

**Honestly my first thought was; "really" quickly followed by; "you really want to see Slenderman in this?" things I think people should think more when taking notice to Slendy.**

**Don't get me wrong, Slendy's pretty swell, he's well dressed and has perfect complexion, but I'm one of the people who never saw him as scary, creepy maybe for about three seconds but not scary.**

**Why you may ask, he has no face and is super lanky in a tux.**

**So what?**

**I'm super lanky and can pull off a tux, but I'm not very scary (outwardly) maybe if I tried to make out with an angle-grinder I'd get a whole lot scarier but I haven't so I'm not.**

**HAVING NO FACE IS NOT SCARY, honestly if he was included it would be for me to mock him for a paragraph and nothing more.**

**Moving along, that story is based off of my fears, my wants and my alias of Gorse Theodore Aurn.**

**I may have asked some people to make suggestions, but that was for minor things, not making Slendy show up.**

**If it had've freaked me out when I played EVERY SLENDER GAME EVER (yes I have) then I might have included it, but it didn't so I didn't.**

**I'm a die-hard Silent Hill fan, or so I'd like to think, and if you feel the need to make any suggestions, please get some SH knowledge.**

**Find out why the monsters are the way they are, in fact try to think what your own trip through Silent Hill would be like, until then I'm not going to accept mainstream media monsters, as the ones you suggest may be one I've already thought to use.**

**For those of you who are interested, Plague of Gripes has a pretty cool series on youtube where he talks about how to make good horror, I'd watch it if you're interested in that sort of thing. (warning: video has disturbing and childish references to society among other things, consider yourself warned)**

**I've got my Other World thought out too for the most part so I don't need too much help on that.**

**Sorry if I'm coming across as dickish but I really think this could go better if my Silent Hill was actually my Silent Hill.**

**It'll let you guys learn more about me as well.**

**If you do have a good suggestion, by all means PM me, if you want to whine at my tone in this section, be my guest and have fun.**

**Blood Laced Wine is coming full circle, it'll be ending soon.**

**Not in the next chapter, but the end is in sight, even if it's on the other side of a massive corridor.**

**I hope you can bear with me while it lasts, I like this story, it's been fun to write for you guys.**

**If you notice any problems in the text such as misplaced names or even missing sections let me know, I've had to fix them before uploading in the past and just want some help so i don't have to read through the 12000 words in the text, thnx.**

**Hope you'll stick around all the way to the end.**

**I'll see you next chapter, BYYEEE!**

**-GorseT**


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